A Dead Moth Keeps on Giving

The scales of its wings become photographic brushstrokes

The moth corpse had lain in the bathroom window sill for a few days. There were signs of a spider web there too, so I suspect the moth had gotten itself snagged and then struggled, evidently without success, to fly another day. This losing war between moths and spiders has been going on for millions of years. I wonder if snagged moths think to themselves something like, ‘oh shit,’ in their surely odd entomological minds once they realize that yet another arachnid nemesis has won yet again. The pattern on the moth’s wings was not spectacular, but I knew I would be in for a visual treat if I just carried the corpse to my microscope and took a little tour at, say, 120x with some reflected light. I was so not disappointed. There was spectacular scenery everywhere. The scales played with the microscope’s light, refracting it into zillions of prismatic specra, each scale a photographic brushstroke. The edge of the wing reminded me of a shawl that could have draped around the shoulders of a stylin lady in the 1920s. There is so much more gorgeous scenery on this one dead moth. It’s like a national park the size of a peach pit.