As our nature education camp at Eaglenest was coming to an end, one of the amazing sights here had not yet been put on display for the children. The many things that the forests of Eaglenest are famous for, include the diversity of the moths.
Till a few years ago, I always assumed that moths were dull creatures, until I put up a moth screen for a night at Eaglenest. That night, I saw hundreds of different moth species, in colours and shapes and forms that left me stunned!
So on the last night I set up a moth screen for the children. We had a few hundred moths come to the screen, and the children watched them, captivated. I explained to the children that most moths fly at night, unlike butterflies, which mostly fly during the day. Also, moths are attracted to light and hence it is easy to observe them.
The student group at Eaglenest saw some amazing moths. Some moths were red, others were blue, green and yellow, with patterns that left them gawking.
My wife looks at some of the photographs of the moths that I had taken and tells me that I should send them to a fashion designer as there are a lot of design ideas that they can copy from the moths.
One of my favourite moths that revealed itself to the children was a fruit piercing moth (Eudocima salaminia). When this moth sits with its wings folded, it is a lovely green colour, which provides it with great camouflage amongst the foliage. However, when the moth spreads its wings to show off its hind wings, it is bright yellow. The green and yellow coloration is beautiful.
This moth feeds on fruit. It has a long mouth-part, which has sharp spines on it, which allows it to probe into raw and ripe fruit. After making a hole in the fruit, it feeds on its juice. For farmers, the fruit-piercing moth is a pest, as it damages their crops.
As we wound up our camp, the children reeled off all the lovely sights they had seen. They had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Our reward for the workshop came when quite a few children shed tears as they left. They were sorry to leave the camp, but promised us that they would not forget our message — that our earth needs to be protected, and that each of us needs to take whatever steps we can, big or small, to help protect Mother Earth.
