Charlotte LR Payne
Charlotte LR Payne
  • About
  • Research
    • Traditional entomophagy in Japan >
      • An overview
      • Wild foraging and food insecurity
      • Imported insects compensate for a decline in wild foraging
    • The ‘semi domestication’ of wasps for use as food in contemporary Japan >
      • What can we learn from insect 'semi-domestication'?
    • Public health and edible insects
    • Wild and semi-wild harvesting in Zimbabwe
    • Wild harvesting in DRC
    • Gender roles in insect foraging and management
    • Edible insects in San Antonio Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • 日本語

First night back in the village

6/5/2017

0 Comments

 
​Last night was really quite surreal. More than once, the proverb 'be careful what you wish for' came to mind.

I arrived in the village yesterday evening, and was immediately confronted with the tasks of collecting water, reconnecting my solar panel, repairing damage done to gas pipes that had been chewed through by a mouse, and mitigating emerging political situations within the village. Thanks to the help of my neighbours, I wasn't alone in any of this, but by 9.30pm I was exhausted and ready to lay out my mat to sleep.

However, the world had other ideas. 

A large moth with a frantic wingbeat careered by drunkenly, drawn to my reading light, and i glanced down at it. I sat up, put down my book, and switched to autopilot. This was a Cirina butyrospermi moth!

My first reaction was to get my makeshift 'killing jar' (a sealable plastic bag with a wad of acetone-soaked tissue), because we need to collect a few samples for DNA barcoding and identification. However, I quickly corrected myself - some of these moths might not yet have mated, so there's a chance I can collect eggs, let them live out their lifespan, and take them as specimens afterwards.

I got a cage from my bag and began to collect moths to put inside. At first, I used a net. But before long I was grasping them with my hands.
Picture
By midnight, I had filled five cages with moths! I decided to stop. I tried to make sure that each cage contained males and females, and between 5-10 individuals. I also put some shea branches in with them, though I'm not sure this is necessary.
Picture
However, my nighttime encounters with moths didn't end there. The cages contained female moths, all of which release strong pheromones to attract males. Before long, the space around me was teeming with eager male moths, crashing into every solid object they encountered and beating their wings like metronomes on acid. I wasn't sure what to do, except to sit and watch and wonder.
Picture
It's good to be back
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

      NEW: Subscribe here for email updates!

    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    Agriculture
    Burkina Faso
    Caterpillars
    DRC
    Events
    Fieldwork
    Grasshoppers
    Japan
    Media
    Mexico
    Nutrition
    Publication
    Recipes
    Silkworm
    Southern Africa
    Termites
    UK
    Video/slideshow
    Wasps/hornets

    Tweets about @libertyruth

    Blog archives

    March 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.