me thinks it`s "moth time" again

[Gwenoakes]

Sorry Ock, I may be stooopid, but have to ask this. What is the point of these moths if they only live a week, cant eat because they have no mouth and can only reproduce for the same thing to happen all over again? Are they food for other animals and is that the reason they are around?

Not being funny either, but just seems a very weird/funny existance........

[sazchops]

A very good question Gwenoakes I suppose really we are all just here to reproduce. In the case of the caterpiller, and 1 or 2 others eat and reproduce!

[ock]

don`t really know, guess not all things really have a purpose in life, bit like wasps and daddylonglegs, all wasps do is fly about eating sugar and picnic food and stinging people and daddylonglegs just just bump into things and land in cups of tea , they are just no use to anyone


well, saying that, pulling legs off daddylonglegs does keep children amused for hours on end, maybe that`s their purpose in life

[Mo]

No more odd than any other. The caterpillars 'purpose' is to produce a moth, the moth's purpose is to produce caterpillars. If you look at it like that.
But natural selection doesn't have a purpose, it just has a result. And the result is that creatures which fit a niche or are adaptable to many survive. Those that are not good at surviving die out.

When you get to my age you could start to wonder about our 'funny sort of life' as you see people slightly older gradually falling to bits.

What does a week feel like to a moth, anyway.

[Mo]

Yesterday I went to my GMIL's house, they had hanging on the wall 2 huge cabinets 1 full of butterflies and 1 full of moths. ( very old 40/50 years ) It is an awful thing to do to a creature but it is done now so I had a look, some as small as my little finger nail, some bigger than my hand! Amazing! If I see them again I'll get a picture!

I would guess older than 50 yrs. Good grief 40 years is nothing, a blink of a eye. I was already married with kids by then.
I think the height of collection and preserving animals was the Victorian age. Though people at school did collect birds eggs and you heard/read about collecting butterflies too.

[sazchops]

I know they aren't so old but was trying to justify the existance. It just seams wrong.
As horrible as they are to me I'm sure some of them are now extinct.

[bluebell]

Hah, Ock, this explains quite a lot.

You may not have realised it, but I think I know what has happened to your missing shirt - same as the white one in your avatar - your bloomin' moths have eaten it!!

[ock]

Hah, Ock, this explains quite a lot.

You may not have realised it, but I think I know what has happened to your missing shirt - same as the white one in your avatar - your bloomin' moths have eaten it!!

nooooooooo ! ! ! they didn`t ! ! ! they couldn`t ! ! ! they wouldn`t ! ! ! they love me ! they wouldn`t be that mean

[LittleBrownFrog]

Not sure about moths, but we need wasps to eat up all the rotten fruit and to keep the Ock population down to a manageable number

[ock]

at last ! the first one has just hatched out about 10 minutes ago , and it`s a girl , she looks a bit messed up though, her legs don`t work very well and she covered in gunk which is sticking everything together, to be honest I don`t think she`ll be able to open her wings , should know in an hour or so

[Panteg Produce]

[p.penn]

Is she alright?

I am a bit as it all seems a bit random somehow.

BTW - how did you know it was a girl. Did she have a pink cocoon?

[Gwenoakes]

Or does she have long blond hair?

[Linda S]

Mrs Ock must be quite a woman to put up with these other ladies i couldnt beautiful though they are i am just imagining you whispering words of encouragment to them to hatch safely. Do you give them names or can you tell them apart Linda

[p.penn]

I have written mothies a poem.

Poem By Helen
Age 7½

Hatch moth hatch.
You are so pretty
Hatch moth hatch