I came downstairs this morning, bleary-eyed, as usual. Sat down in the lounge with my laptop, happily tapping away at emails and PMs and suchlike … and I happened to glance up and see that mirror in the picture up there. Now, I’m not a great housewife, I admit that, and since our cleaner left to take a full-time job things have got a little dustier around here. But that upwardly-mobile graph line on the mirror? That wasn’t there yesterday, honestly!
I gazed at it for a while, trying to work out what it was. At first I thought maybe I wasn’t awake enough to recognise it for what it was, and waited for my brain to process the information and come up with something run-of-the-mill which my sleep-sodden self hadn’t quite got yet, but the longer I sat here, the more I realised that I had no idea what the heck it was!
A snail-trail, that was my first thought, although what any self-respecting snail would be doing on my mantlepiece I had no idea, and there didn’t appear to be any slime. That snail would have had to cross the conservatory, and the lounge, and make a death-defying leap up to the corner of the mirror, there to wander aimlessly up to the top of the Galileo thermometer and then disappear into thin air. Nah. Unlikely.
So I got to my feet and wandered over and peered at the little dotted line and my jaw dropped somewhat. It was a line of eggs!
So. Definitely not a snail then, because the eggs are not big enough, or shiny enough and anyway, snails bury them in the earth. Not a spider, because their eggs come in neat little cocoons glued with Araldite-like efficiency to crevices and mouldings.
I thought. And the solution I came up with was the only one that seemed remotely likely. See what you think.
One of the many moths that flutter in of an evening when the windows are open and the lights are on had got caught short. I could imagine it fluttering around the lounge searching for a suitable plant to lay its eggs on, and Not Finding Anything because I don’t think they do orchids or prayer plants. The poor little thing must’ve got weaker and weaker and more and more tired and finally thought ‘Fuck it, I’ll just drop them here and they can take their chance!’
To support my theory, I cite two pieces of evidence.
1) Moths have various ways of distributing their eggs – in clusters, rings, lines or even (bizarrely) dropped from the air while on the wing.
2) There was a large moth hanging disconsolately from one of my curtains – a Common Rustic, I think. Or it might be a Cabbage Moth. Either way, she looked pissed, but did agree to pose for a photo.
So here’s the question, what should I do now? Should I leave the eggs there and see what hatches? Should I carefully remove them and put them in some rough grass – that being what Common Rustic caterpillars like to eat? Or a mix of brassicas and grasses in case it’s a Cabbage Moth? Or should I just vacuum them up and get rid of them? Common Rustics and Cabbage Moths both being, well, common.
Other, more creative, suggestions are welcome, but will not necessarily be acted upon.
Wow! Ok, that is actually quite eerie…
Clearly your porcelain guard-dogs missed a trick there!
Somnambulists last blog post..New Book
fun mystery love you blue and white .. I once saw something above the door jam kept walking toward it – turnedout to be a rattler hiding from the cats. yipes sk
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Somnambulist – Hi there! Yes, well, greyhounds are not known as good guard dogs. Never have been! LOL!
Sandy – Good grief!!! What did you do with it? I’d have been scared witless! And spent the next week checking my shoes!
Well, what a coincidence. My niece found a patch of lime green eggs on her kitchen wall the other day. They hatched into, what looked like ladybirds. After doing a Google search, she discovered they were stink bugs! She carried them out into the garden and put them on some leaves.
If it was me, I’d like to set up a tank with some greenery and see if they hatched. Knowing my luck they would be spiders, or similar. Urgghhhh!
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The science geek in me is dying to know what they are and says yeah you should let them be and lets what pops out. The girly side of me squeals and says that’s so disgusting!
I think the science is winning though, truly, what are they?
Oooh . . I’m used to seeing weird things like the little mud capsules our wasps leave on the bricks but never seen anything like that . .they look too big to have come from such a little moth? Shame they don’t do a “What Egg is That” book . . I find my “What Bird is That” bible very useful. . .Go the leafy tank option but make sure it has a lid!
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Babs – Really? Wow, that is a coincidence! Stink bugs, huh? LOL! Well, we’ll see. I’m inclined to go with the vivarium option to see what hatches!
JT – LOL! I really do think they are moth eggs.
Baino – It is a shame, isn’t it? My two-volume ‘bible’ of moths of the British Isles mentions eggs and egg-laying patterns for some moths, but by no means all. So frustrating! Yes, tank with a lid. Or cling wrap. They look bigger than they are, on account of the macro lens and nothing in the pic to give you a sense of scale. They really are small enough.
You’re funny! I would have sprayed Windex and then squealed as I was crushing them in a paper towel. I have no mercy!
)
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Arrrrggh!~ Vacuum! At once!
Your room is beautiful … what I can see of it! I adore a wall of books.
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how cool is that? I leave the bugs alone. I figured they work hard to get into the house and lay eggs. what is that harm in a few moths or spiders. I would set up a fishtank with a good screen top and grass, dirt leaves and put them in there to hatch. you never know what they maybe. (I draw the line at fleas and ticks;)
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Well, I would just leave them be and wait until they hatch – but then I do have a praying mantis and two toads as pets, so I don’t suppose my response will come as much of a surprise. How well cemented are they to the mirror? I would be a bit worried about trying to remove them in case I squashed the eggs.
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Um…I’d have to take them outside. I wouldn’t destroy them, because I don’t like the idea of destroying life, but I’d take them out, strangely beautiful though they are.
Peace – D
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Hmmm gotta say, I’m not too keen on the idea of ANY bugs in my house, even if they are moths or butterflies…I’d have had the vacuum cleaner out faster than you can say “creepy crawly things”…
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good lord, I’d of wiped them outta there, LOL. I’m so caring, I know … but eesh. Kill em I say. God, I feel bad now for typing that. Maybe you can just relocate them somewhere.
Whatever, they’re lucky they didn’t pick my place…lol
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Oh no! I am feeling GROSS!! You have neat beautiful room but I am still feeling uggghhh!! never mind!
Good Day:)
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Like most of these comments I am torn between getting rid or them because you never know what might hatch and worrying about the new life growing in them – if it was my mirror I think my first suggestion would be the one for me!!!!
Tell me are you always that tidy or did you move a few things before taking the photo?
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Bee – Meanie! I couldn’t do that, and I won’t scream. LOL!
Jenny – Thanks – that wall of books is a source of great satisfaction to both of us!
Dawn – I’ll rig up something like that, but I’m a bit concerned about what to use as a lid. These things are TINY. I wonder if cling wrap (saran wrap?) would do if I change the air daily?
DBM – I shall be very careful, I promise. I thought about using a new A4 sheet of paper, which would also catch them as they fell? Or I could use my nice little William Henry to detach them, yes?
RiverPoet – All life is sacred and yes, they are beautiful! My vacuuming suggestion was merely provocative. *snigger*
Angi – I’m afraid the vacuum cleaner has lost the vote. However, feel free to use that option if ever this happens to you!
DM – HAHAHA! Yes, so caring you are! I’m gonna have to move them out, just because they might hatch before we’re up one day and start wandering all over ..
Scratch – Thanks! Sorry to make you feel icky!
Kate – I didn’t move anything at all – but if it makes you feel any better, the rest of the room is not that tidy at all! Try looking at mantle level and up in your own house and it’ll probably look good, too! LOL!
I’m happy to catch spiders and daddy-long-legs with a paper and glass, we have humane mouse traps that I don’t so much as flinch to handle, wasps and bees hold no fear for me.. BUT put a fluttering moth in the room and watch me dive for cover, screaming all the way.
Shudder.
Get that vacuum out (quick)!
We’re still getting over the last infestation of Indian Cornmeal (Pantry) Moths that I guess I must have inadvertently dragged home from the grocery store…….I vote to wipe the mirror clean and offer up a prayer of moth killin repentance when you’re done.
The F*** line you wrote made me LOL!
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I vote for Moth Egg Relocation. That way you’ve done the best you can for your winged friend, it’s sort of a “Hey, Mrs. Moth, no harm no foul” sorta thing… And you can both hopefully go on your merry way.
Maybe she’ll even bring the mothlings to see you later.
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Shrinky – I worked with someone like that once. She went completely loopy if a moth came anywhere near her! I didn’t really understand it at the time (I was very young) but now I know that phobias can strike without any logic being involved, and yet they’re real and very powerful. But growing up with an entomologist father, I remember the evenings of the mercury vapour lamp, when his friends would come along and do moth surveys. I found it fascinating and never did learn to be scared of creepy crawlies. I think I have him and his friends to thank for that – including the ‘Spider Lady’.
EWBLady – There’s a warning somewhere in the About Me page about bad language. ROFL!
Pantry moths, clothes moths, those I would kill.
Jenn – The eggs have now been carefully removed (sadly I did lose a few, they were stuck quite well) and are in a large jar with some greenery. We’ll see what pops out, and I’ll let y’all know!
Ha! This sounds SO like me… torn between what to do. Definitely I couldn’t squash them either. But I probably would relocate them; I love nature, but prefer it outdoors. I am constantly gingerly taking moths and the like out the front door (only to let another four inside as I am doing so).
Keep us updated on what happens!!!
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Maureen – We have so many moths in here of a summer evening that I just let them be and then open a window for them if I see them near one the next day. Unless it’s a particulary big moth or it’s beating itself to death on a light bulb, then I’ll catch it.
I hate that you can’t get this in a reader; I often forget to log on, and see what I have been missing! I say vaccum them up and be done with them, but then again, I doubt I would have even noticed them in the first place, mirror notwithstanding. I admire your willingness to even consider otherwise, and am amzed at how muhc you KNOW! Cool-I did not know that moths could do that!
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Hey Kori – I’m only assuming they’re moth eggs right now, we shall see! LOL!
I don’t know why you can’t get this blog in a reader. There are definitely people who do! What reader are you using?
Yikes! I came home today to find that my daughter’s sea-monkeys have hatched, so I, too, am a grandmother to little beasties.
I’ve just come from jail (my workplace as you know) where a guy was complaining about all the creepy-crawlies he’s seen about the place. I had to point out that the prison is in the countryside and that as he is Glasgow born and raised, he just doesn’t realise that’s what happens in the country.
Hi AnneDroid – I love the way you have to remind us that you work in jail! LOL!
Poor Glaswegian guy. Did he not like the creepy crawlies? Just shows, the toughest guys have their weak points!
Sea monkeys … I don’t know what those are! I’ll have to Google them!
Here’s a suggestion: Scream, throw up, run around in circles, and then buy a new, moth-free house.
JD at I Do Thingss last blog post..I Like the Previews so you don’t have to
JD – ROFL!! You don’t think that would be over-reacting? Well, I guess it’s a thought … LOL!
So here’s the question, what should I do now? SCREAM AND RUN LIKE JD SAID
Should I leave the eggs there and see what hatches? (*&^^ NO
Should I carefully remove them and put them in some rough grass. ASAP.
I WOULD REMOVE THE MIRROR AND GIVE IT A BATH I GUESS. WELL I WOULDN’T DO IT. I’D BE HIDING UNDERNEATH THE BED.
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Gosh, it’s lucky you don’t live in my house, Valerie! What with birds flying into the conservatory, frogs hopping in, moths papering the walls of a summer evening and certain wildlife thinking my furniture looks like a nursery, I’d fear for your sanity! LOL!
I have them in a jar with assorted greenery. One has hatched. I see a teeny tiny caterpillar!! Awwww!