Last week was National Moth Week in the US of A.
On the terrace, in the republic of Brooklyn, every night has been moth night. They love the agastache, above. I am amazed that there is anything left in the tiny labiate flowers for all the pollinators who visit. The bees and flies of daytime, the moths at night.
I look up sometimes, into the dark, and see their soft forms whirring from pot to pot. Up here on the top floor of this brownstone full of people in apartments, there is something comforting about their pale, silent, nocturnal work.
I can totally relate. I tried moving the garden up onto my deck (20' above the ground) a couple of years ago to foil the deer. It did work well to escape deer browse, but it did not escape other visitors. The gold finches ate virtually every yellow flower in site, and everything that escaped them became the focus for squirrel, raccoon and opossum. Now I just plant extra - on the ground!
ReplyDeleteHi Alison - Well, the moth's don't actually destroy anything. They sip. Can you fence off a garden area?
ReplyDeleteI tried that. The deer seemed to have great fun pushing through the fence and a permanent fence is not allowed as per zoning code. The best results I've had have actually been to place shavings of Irish Spring soap in old socks and toss them around areas that I want to keep relatively deer free. The problem really is that development has taken away their habitat and they have nowhere to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky we have no roof deer.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post
ReplyDeleteThe moth in the foreground is called Mythimna unipuncta by entomologist and more commonly, the Armyworm Moth.
Actually, you are double lucky. If you had roof dear, the Don would add
ReplyDeletethem to his herd of caddle. No problem!
During last winter i "forgot" the agastache in the pot (okay, it was pure lazyness) and look, who visited me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8648405@N02/6587046799/ (they are rare in the center of Hamburg).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Moth Week. Army worms! No!I haven't thought of them since I was little in South Africa, where their name was uttered with horror. I am no longer entranced by my moths. They now fit perfectly into predictions of Armageddon, as I have never seen them in such numbers on my terrace. Does this mean my garden will be a desert once their eggs hatch? Argh!
ReplyDeletewebb - I think Estorbo might ride on a roof deer, to patrol his range. Just don't tell him that they are the same as venison.
Ania, how lovely. I shall forget mine, too, this winter, and wait in hope for a seed eater :-)