attack of the killer moths

[ilanarama]

So Colorado is undergoing its once-ever-ten-years Miller Moth invasion. Moths here are one of those creatures that have a boom-and-bust life cycle, like cicadas in the east, and this is their year in the big time. Open a cabinet, and a moth flies out. Get in the car, and there are five or six flying around in there. Several dozen cram behind our mailbox flap each day.

They're not dangerous (gah, can you imagine if they had teeth? Phew) but they are annoying as hell. Don't even try to read by lamplight at night. Stupid moths.

As the weather warms, they're moving up into the high country, where they will be eaten by bears. Go bears!

Comments

[littleamerica.livejournal.com]

We've seen a smaller invasion in Santa Fe; several mornings recently I've arrived at work to find a couple dozen beating themselves senseless against the front glass doors. I've felt like I'd just stepped into the opening frames of an episode of the old Scooby-Doo show.

For some reason a bunch of moths gives me the thoroughly involuntary willies in a way that e.g. a rattlesnake doesn't.

Here they aren't yet being eaten by our non-existent bear population, but by small fearless birds. On several occasions I've nearly hit little moth-hungry birds with my car; on Sunday's bike ride I saw one dead by the side of the road, struck down by an appetite for moths and an overdose of kinetic energy.

Bears vs. Moths

[(Anonymous)]

I'm curious exactly how the bears go about eating the moths.
Do they squash them with their paws first, or do they just run around with their mouths open, ingesting moths?
[Ferret]

Re: Bears vs. Moths

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

I think they scoop them up when they (the moths, duh) are sleeping, tucked under brush or timber. But they're so thick these days that running around with open mouth would probably work. (Note to self: breathe through nose when on bike.)