Saturday 2 August 2008

Large is also beautiful


Small yesterday. VERY large today. It's still risky weather, so here's another pic from the past. This is the largest moth in the world, the Great Atlas. I've replaced the candle with a bus for scale, unhelpfully according to Penny who points out that you won't know the size of the bus. It isn't a real one. If that was the case we would be in trouble. It's about six inches long. This moth was brought back by my primary school teacher Miss Cynthia from her own version of Alfred Russel Wallace's exploration of the Malay Archipelago. I remember going to see her in a nursing home shortly before her death, a silvery waif but still full of memories of the exotic journey long ago. I watched an Atlas come to a moth trap myself once, in Sulawesi, formerly Celebes. An unforgettable sight.

No comments: