Death by a Moth

An afternoon in the office front door while waiting for the taxi for home, i saw this moth inside the canopy of the Podocarpus sp. This plant's canopy is thick and complicated. I wouldn't have seen the insect if it hadn't flown out and then back again. The color was so conspicuous against the green background, that i immediately thought why of all plants it chose to stay there. Maybe, i told myself, that it was so scared to look for a more subtle background to hide in. Or maybe because moths are nocturnal, it might have been blind during the day. So i thought. And i immediately got my camera to painstakingly take the picture. The flash made it stuck deeper inside the canopy, and gave me more difficulty. If it wasn't the front of the office door, i would have lain flat on my chest to get it more vividly. The moth is about an inch long, but with very nice longitudinal patterns, like an elegant gown.

That night at home at the 5th Floor, i saw a moth again on the top of the wall above the sink. My immediate reaction is to climb the sink and take the shot. Fortunately, the arm of a chair is just a few feet away from the sink. I quickly got the camera, change the settings with the flash on, left foot stepped on the chair's arm with the right foot alighting the table top of the sink. Everything went in a flash.

I stumbled down the floor, water all over me and on the floor, my stretched right hand still holding the camera and my mind grasping for reason! The sudden consciousness immediately thanked God that the camera did not bang the cement wall or the floor, or else it would have been broken. I also suddenly realized i didn't notice the basinful of water at the side of the sink, which i spilled over. Drying the floor was an immediate action, which didn't take long. Then i noticed and felt the left toe was hurt, maybe it bumped hard on the floor. But at least it is not too much for doctor's attention.

Now it's time to analyze what happened. Aside from the basin of water and the foot that slipped, i can't remember anything anymore. I was just so happy the camera is intact, i only got a sore left toe, and i didn't bump my head on the cement wall. OMG, accidents do happen without any reason.  Then there is still the moth. So I climbed the sink again, now very slowly, sure footage, aim precisely and shoot!

I looked at the image in the camera. There the moth is, very clear, the same moth that i painstakingly shot this afternoon in front of the office door! I can almost hear it laughing at me! Oh my God, is it a witch? I can almost imagine the awe and intrigue that would have been created by this incident if it materialized. Everybody saying "death by a moth"! LOL.

P.S...i posted this in the butterfly group and learned it is Azota caricae of the Noctuidae family!