I don’t want to offend!

During quiet contemplation in Balloch Castle Country Park with a sandwich I looked down. What a surprise...the grass was really busy! There were all sorts of insects buzzing, flying, hopping and walking through the blades. Realising I did not know what the winged insects were (or indeed the names of any of them, apart from “bee”or “insect”) I took to Twitter to ask about one of them. And as I didn’t want to offend them I called them butterflies. They were actually Chimney Sweeper Moths. So I did some basic research... 1) there are c160,000 species of moth (Lepidoptera) and they are related to butterflies 2) moths can be as small as a pencil tip or as big as a songbird 3) moths are great impersonators...some look like wasps, tarantulas and praying mantis 4) whilst some caterpillars are a major pest devouring leaves, moths are important pollinators 5) many adult moths don’t eat! their sole mission in their 1 week lifespan is to mate and lay eggs 6) moths don’t have noses! they use their attenae to sniff and the male giant silkworm moths can sniff a female from 7 mikes away 😳 7) moths are major players at the bottom of the food chain and caterpillars are food to c95% of baby birds 8) moths: the next superfood? caterpillars are packed with protein and healthy fats. 100g of caterpillar will provide 100% of your daily requirement of potassium, zinc, calcium and iron I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet! 🤢