Several nights ago I heard a loud exclamation from my roommate’s side of the room as a large flying insect came barreling towards him. It flew straight into his lamp as he hurriedly jumped out of the away while reaching for a shoe to “take care of it.” Having just finished my first insect biology lab, I yelled out, “wait!” I quickly grabbed my insect net and “kill jar,” filled with fumes toxic to insects. My roommate watched curiously as I swung at the insect and captured it. His curiosity soon turned to disgust as he watched the insect, which we identified now as a moth, twitch and die an agonizing death inside the jar. With a sigh, I prepared myself for a semester’s worth of weird looks in pursuit of my ultimate insect collection.
As I examined my latest specimen, I felt excitement in anticipation of showing it to my partner and adding it to the collection. I wondered what species of moth it was and whether or not it was a rare find. I felt like I had seen these flying around campus but I had just began to become aware of the vast distinctions and subtle differences that can characterize different species. Next Friday in my insect biology lab, I hope to soon find some answers.
I also caught myself wondering why that moth was drawn to my roommates lamp, a phenomenon I’ve noticed in many nocturnal insects. With a quick search, I was surprised to find that such behavior still isn’t well classified. Some believe that moths count on moonlight as an orienting device and naturally fly towards unnatural light, only to become disorientated and confused (Livescience). While other theories speculate that male moths are attracted to bright lights that have similar frequencies to female pheromones (Livescience). Unfortunately, these theories all have their flaws and I look forward to exploring the many mysteries of insect biology this semester.
