h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Disgraceful!

A very interesting and enjoyable read Websailor

My brother picked the most enormous moth off one of his trees to show me a few years ago. Biggest and most beautiful moth I'd ever seen. It was a puss moth, like this one: http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=1995 and I've never seen another one since.

Some time ago, I seem to remember something about cinnabar moths being imported and used to control ragwort. Apparently (as far as I remember) their caterpillars eat the leaves - one of the few creatures that can tolerate the poison. It didn't work though. It's like cows eating grass - it just carries on growing.

There've been very few moths around my area for ages. And I hadn't seen any bats for 3 or 4 years. Then I saw one swooping and looping the loop outside my bedroom window a couple of nights ago. It was lovely to see even one back. There must be a few moths about. I'd like to encourage more but won't be able to use the fence-syruping method to attract them because my fence is tanalised. Tanalised timber fences are impregnated with extremely toxic preservative substances. Mine's tanalised with arsenic. It's been there for over 20 years and hasn't decayed at all. I don't suppose it leaches out, but I wouldn't want to risk it. I might try it on the trunk of the buddleia...

Thanks TB, and most interesting comments. Your fencing sounds a bit lethal The buddleia sounds a better bet

I am a bit stuck at the moment as the badgers are coming so early any chance of getting out and seeing any moths is limited. I might try later in the 'summer'. It has been raining heavily here and everywhere is soaking wet so conditions aren't ideal anyway, but I am determined to do it. I would so love a photo of a really nice one.

Yes, Cinnabar moths thrive on ragwort. It is such a shame ragwort is such a worry for anyone with horses, as the flowers are pretty and the moths are beautiful. Without the ragwort the Cinnabar is at risk, as are so many other moths and butterflies.

Websailor

Hello Tibley Bobley and Websailor! Hawk Moths are among my favourite things! We have several different kinds here in South Africa. It's great to see them outside, hovering in front of flowers. It always amazes me that these moths can fly in such a precise manner, while ordinary moths seem to be flying all over the place with little or no control!

One incident with a hawk moth was years ago when I was on a hiking trail in the Wolkberg mountains. I was eating a bright pink 'energy bar'. There was this little hawk moth - pink as well - who suddenly came and hovered right in front my my energy bar! Only a few inches away! He certainly was sensing something sweet ... but after inspecting my bar for a while, he flew off!

Over here we often get the big hawk-moth caterpillars in the garden ... sometimes they chomp on valuable plants of mine but mostly we leave them alone because they are pretty. Our one cat, Poplap, must consider them pretty as well, because she often picks them up in her mouth and then drops them, totally unharmed, in the house!

Here are photos of a death's head hawk moth caterpillar I photographed in our garden:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2777894290103203115ddJsPj

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2575753010103203115bOBRAU

At any rate I enjoyed your article Websailor! I've always liked moths. Like I said elsewhere, I'll try and get some more photos of the ones we have over here.

Hi Websailor and Pillowcase

It sometimes seems that every kind of wildlife is regarded as a problem by some section of humanity. If it's not the badgers infecting the cattle, it's plants poisoning horses - or something else. Ragwort hasn't suddenly evolved, has it? How did grazers and browsers ever manage to survive before domestication? It seems that horses aren't at all interested in eating ragwort when it's growing. They can smell that it's poisonous. But when it's dead and mixed in with their hay, they can't smell the warning, even though the poison remains strong.

I think it's a handsome plant and there are a couple of healthy clumps growing in my garden where cinnabar moths are welcome.

Poplap sounds like a real character. We once had a little dog who did things like that. He could carry a bird's egg for miles in his mouth without cracking it. Didn't do the occupant of the egg much good of course, but still - gentle little dog.

Great photos. What a fabulous looking caterpillar!

Thank you kindly Willem. The photos were lovely. I wish I could get out to look at some moths but it is a bit difficult at the moment. The weather is too humid to do anything really, though I have persevered and got some things done.

Have you done any paintings of moths? Some of them make stunning subjects.

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TB, I have often wondered how animals and their owners managed in the past with all the natural disasters that could befall them.

Perhaps they died with no-one knowing how or why it happened, or perhaps they just accepted it as people in many countries seem to accept it, whether human or animal? I think perhaps we know too much these days, or equally not enough. We seem to be encouraged to worry about everything, instead of getting on and enjoying the life we have.

Websailor

Here's an interesting little something that might account for the 'inexplicable' demise of many and various: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090630/thl-uk-britain-ladybirds-acc9995.html

Thanks for that TB,

I wrote an article about them a while back, and noticed they were mentioned in the paper today. The numbers and spread seems to have increased dramatically.

I was a bit concerned about this comment:

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So many times such things have been done, and while curing one problem another has surfaced. They need to take great care. With the best will in the world they cannot know what unforeseen consequences such introductions might cause.

Websailor

Yep. That's what I thought. Here they go again

It's as though they've never heard of all those other times a species was introduced to control another species, ignored that species, and caused havoc among beneficial native species instead

Mind you, that mite sounds like something our own species needs desperately I challenge any ladybird, however voracious, to do more damage than we can do. Any damage they can do we can damage bigger and better and more permanently...

Absolutely! or perhaps that should be

Websailor