Does anyone else like moths?

[SapphireSeptember]

I remember someone on MN calling moths 'dusty goth butterflies' years ago. I adore moths, there's some gorgeous ones in the UK, and in other parts of the world. My favourite species is the hummingbird hawk moth. I just think they're really cute. 😅
(Not my picture, I'm never quick enough.)

Love these photogenic beauties. Not so keen on the ones that eat my clothes and invest the flour bin.

We just saw a humming bird hawk moth in the garden!! First time this has happened. It was enjoying the salvia, which appears to be remarkably drought tolerant.

I don't mind big moths, night time butterflies I call them, but I hate carpet moths, little feckers I call them.

Yes, the ear moth incident was a bit traumatic. I felt one of the small type that fly round the house land near my ear and as I went to swat it away, it somehow ended up in my ear.

It had gone all the way in and despite trying everything the internet suggested with water and olive oil it just wouldn't budge. After the olive oil it stopped moving around, so I think that must have finished it off.

After a pretty sleepless night I sought medical attention the next morning. The doc, who was initially very sceptical, had an ear irrigation device thing, but although she could see that there was something there, apparently the end of my ear canal is slighly deformed and narrowed and the moth would just not budge 😔. I was sent away with drops that would hopefully dissolve it over a couple of days, but knowing it was still there was very unsettling, plus I could hardly hear in that ear. The following day I was eating a corn on the cob when I felt a slightly odd feeling like there had been some dislodging. After a lot of poking around with tweezers I manged to get the little sod out intact.

This is not even the end of the weirdness! I posted this bizarre, story on Facebook and discovered that someone I know had the same thing happen to them (although he was fortunate enough that the flushing procedure got his out quickly and apparently it was still alive and could fly off!!

I've always wondered why if it got in, it couldn't get out and concluded that moths must have no reverse gear 😉

Sure. They’re fluffy and cute :)

Clothes moths however… 🤬🤬 Bastards ate a 1970s wool jacket I’d JUST finished relining.

I am absolutely terrified of moths - i can tolerate the small ones, but the big ones have me running screaming for the hills 😱. They have zero respect for your personal space as they flit erratically about and the sound of their fat bodies divebombing the lightbulbs is one of the worse sounds ever. We live in darkness in our house over the summer months for fear of attracting them in. The thought of one of those huge ones in my house is the stuff of nightmares!!!

I love them! Have done quite a lot of trapping over the years. I don’t know if I have a favourite but I do love a Privet Hawkmoth just for their sheer size. Had a Garden Pebble in the lounge a couple of days ago, which was a new one for me.

I hate them - they make holes in fabric.

Some of them are very pretty though!

same thing happened to me!

Meeee! Love them, I adore the very very detailed photos of them, it shows the complexity of their structure and the lovely fuzz. Butterflies are great but overrated.
Also adore bats.

I love them! My favourites are the Elephant Hawkmoth & Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Had a few of them in the garden over the years.
Had a Silver Y Moth in the house a few weeks ago (was released outside)

No to moths , they are fine outside where they belong .If they come indoors I scoop them up with a glass and card and release them.
I do love bats though, I was watching one winging round in a circle in my NDN garden while I was bringing washing in.
Maybe it was eating the moths ?

More likely to be eating midges if it’s a garden bat (probably a Pipistrelle)@70isaLimitNotaTarget but yes some bats (horseshoes in particular) eat moths. Moth wings in a pile on the floor are a sign of bat presence.

I have a mild mottephobia so NO can't stand the things. I've had to skip past the photos on this thread!

I know the fear is irrational - believe me i KNOW they can't hurt me LOL But can't stop me freaking out of one happens to find its way into my house or flutters around my head at night.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature/common-insect-pest-species-in-homes/clothes-moths-identification-guide.html

It's these two buggers that do that. Then there's hundreds of species that don't eat clothes!

@SapphireSeptember A hummingbird hawk moth flew through the patio doors into our living room yesterday. It was a bugger to catch, they can't half move fast!

We love those, they are so beautiful.

I have never liked moths I've always said they are just evil butterflies.
I don't know why but they have always just scared me, I absolutely love butterflies though always thought they were beautiful.
I actually went to somewhere in north Wales many years ago called pili palace not sure if I've got the name right but I think it meant butterfly palace, it had some really beautiful butterflies in there it also had some massive moths which just made my phobia of them worse.

I read that as 'maths' and came on to say no, I loathed it at school and really struggled 😂

Having said that, I don't like things that flap, so I'm afraid I don't like moths either, OP. I particularly don't like them in the bedroom at night!

Cinnabar moth in the garden a couple of months ago.

@PencilsInSpace wow that is gorgeous!I'll Google the species, I'd love to see one of those in my garden.

We had one attracted to our roof light the other week and after getting it free it came back a few days later but it was gorgeous. Not fussed on those dusty clothes moths though. Not at all.

I do, yes.

My best friend from school's Dad bred moths and had an 80ft mothery built in his garden. He had some absolutely beautiful moths in there, they are stunning creatures.

They lay eggs on ragwort so if you can get a bit of that growing in a corner somewhere you have a good chance.