Mothing community in-house report (part 1)

First, some definitions. A moth is an insect, closely related to butterflies. The collection or observation of moths is called "mothing". What the people doing it should be called, is less clear. "Mothers", perhaps? For reasons of simplicity, I will call them that in this review. (Presumably, the "th" in "mother" is voiceless!)

"Discovering moths" by John Himmelman is too in-house for my taste. Although marketed as an introduction to moths and mothing, it rather strikes me as a book by a mother for other mothers. And to a large extent, it's *about* mothers as well. It's essentially a book for the amateur entomologist mutual admiration society. It's not bad for such purposes: if you have a son, daughter or friend who is obsessed by moths but short on cash, I'm sure this nerd book will be an excellent Christmas or birthday gift. However, I don't think you want to read it yourself!

One of the most esoteric chapters is about famous mothers in various parts of the United States - famous, that is, within the mothing community. Another equally internal chapter, deals with moths named after famous 19th century mothers! I'm sure you never heard of Augustus Grote, John Henry Camstock, Anna Botsford or Harrison Dyar. Well, neither have I.

"Discovering moths" also include sections on the moth life cycle, the best season to find various moth species, Gypsy Moths, silkworms, the horror movie "Godzilla versus Mothra", growing moths in captivity, and finding moths by day. Often the author pauses and tells some anecdote from his own field experience with moths: how he and his sweetheart were bombarded by Gypsy Moth mucus (or was it feces?), how he spent some quality time in the Smokies going through large piles of dead moths killed by scientists during a species survey, or how he followed a mother known as Big Easy to observe moths in broad day light.

The most interesting part of the book deals with the perennial conflict between collectors (who kill and collect moths) and anti-collectors (who believe killing moths is unethical).

And finally, guys, mark my words: a moth is nothing more than A NIGHT BUTTERFLY!