Of Good Intentions, Procrastination, And The Flight Of Time And Moths

By Pat Schuler

The Butterfly Lady

   I'm convinced that time really does speed up as we grow older.  At any rate, the last entry I made in my blog notes was dated Apr. 30, and says, " It hardly seems long enough for all this bursting forth of nature to have occurred, but we have somehow gone from winter to full force spring.  For Charlie and me, that means it's time to get the 100 plus giant silk moth cocoons out of the refrigerator crisper downstairs and move them into the outdoor and indoor emerging cages.'
     Now we seem to have slid from spring into summer, as a month of garden planting has delayed further writing.  We did move the cocoons to their outdoor cages a few days after Easter.  Then the fickle spring weather, as so often happens, turned cool and rainy, delaying both the sprouting of corn in our garden and the emergence of any moths.  Finally, a break in the weather brought warmer temperatures, and we began to see movement in the cocoons as pupae began to prepare for emerging as adults.  Three days ago the first Polyphemus emerged, a beautiful female.  Thus began a series of sleepless nights as I had to check the cage I placed her in every few hours during the night for any male that might have come courting.  Actually, a determined male mated with her through the cage wire, and I've attached the picture to prove it!  I've also attached a picture of the Luna moths doing the same thing the following night.  Sadly, I don't have a picture of me chasing other males flying through my porch, wielding a butterfly net, in the dark at 2 AM.  Charlie definitely would have enjoyed snapping that picture, but slept through the whole event.
     During the next three days after that first female emerged from her cocoon we've had a mass exodus of moths.  Currently, 23 Polyphemus and three Luna moths have emerged.  Most have been released as soon as their wings have dried and firmed up and it is dark enough that most hungry birds (and cats) are not a major danger.  Yes, cats do eat fat, juicy moths.  One night I found the neighbor's cat on top of the smaller emerging cage.  Although I release the greater number, any female I want to breed I put into a special wire cage with 1/2 " mesh through which an eager male can easily reach her if she cooperates just a little.  At anywhere from 10 PM to 4 AM the female will "call" by giving off a pheromone any male of her species within a mile of so will detect and be irrisistably drawn to.  Being in the vicinity of a calling female can be exciting, as males come flying in out of the darkness from all directions, bumping carelessly into any human in the way.  In spite of their seeming clumsiness, though, they have an amazing ability to avoid a net !
     Currently, we have two female Polyphemus and one Luna moth bred to local wild males and busily laying eggs, which we hope will hatch into the next generation of caterpillars to be raised safe from predators.  In the wild, it is estimated that fewer than 10% of eggs laid will survive through all stages of metamorphosis to become adults capable of breeding .  With care and proper understanding of their needs, that percentage may increase to 90%.  Since we can't protect them all, those not kept for breeding are then released to supplement the wild population. I recall that Jesus reminded His disciples that God provides food for the birds.  Moths lay hundreds of eggs, thus supplying plentiful food for many of our favorite songbirds, as well as other animals.
     Now comes the hard part of this blog, answering the question I am so often asked, i.e., why we do this, year after year. First, there is the desire to protect that which we see as beautiful in our environment.  Second, there is our compulsion to open the eyes of others to the beauty of what God created for His own, and our, enjoyment.  Believe it or not, I once had a man ask why I was building a cage for raising moths and butterflies, saying, "What good are they?  They're no use to us.".  You might as well ask, "What use is a beautiful sunset?'  The Bible tells us that God's character is clearly seen in nature, because it is His creation -- Rom 1:20.  In  these small parts of His creation we can see, if we just open our eyes and our minds to perceive what we see, God's love of beauty, His almighty power and wisdom, His care for all He created, and His desire that we work with Him in caring for this garden we call Earth.  In watching the miracle we call metamorphosis, we have a beautiful analogy of the re-birth promised by Jesus to all who will believe and trust in Him.