Day Seventy Two, Week 11

This morning saw no moths emerging.
I have been tossing some of the dead moths into the garden, thinking that perhaps the birds would find them to be a tasty morsel.
So you can imagine my surprise to see a water skink emerge from its hiding place and devour one of the moths I had only moments before discarded.  I watched from above, on the balcony, as the lizard ate another two of the moths.

The dust that the moths have generated is becoming more of a hazard each day.
This evening I spent over an  hour cleaning up a fine layer of white 'dust' off the dining room furniture, floor, and light fittings.

I'm now sworn to never having 'pets' in the house  again, as my airways are affected by the build up of  moth wing dust.

Day Seventy One

I removed handfuls of dead moths throughout the day today.
Remember that over one hundred moths emerged on days sixty one and sixty two.  So it makes sense that the moths should now be dying by the score.
By the time the moths are nearing their end, they become very ragged and their wings have lost their previous silky softness.
One lonesome moth emerged this morning
The dust build up from the moths' continually flapping wings is becoming a health hazard in the sense that it irritates my nasal passages and makes me cough.
As I suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease I can see that I'll be wearing some sort of dust mask (albeit home-made), to do what might be my penultimate clean up of the one remaining tank.

Day Fifty Nine

A newly emerged silkworm moth.

Notice how short the wings are?

Gradually, its wings open up and lengthen.

When just emerged, the moth moves around, not unlike the silkworm it once was.

Oh, by the way...got my camera back!