spirit animals

i've always had an affinity for giant pandas. anyone who has met me knows this; i have two panda tattoos. but ever since i was 22, something else has been haunting me. trailing me wherever i go...

the lowly moth.

it started as small indian meal moths in my rice bags when i lived in LA. undeterred, i threw away the grains (and once, inadvertently, boiled a handful of moths in a pot of water whilst attempting to make brown rice) and thought nothing more of it. then, the same tiny moths appeared in my car. they weren't hurting anything/one, so i just left them. one of them stuck around for awhile, and flew around every time i was driving at night. i gave him a name that for the life of me i can't think of now.

and i thought nothing of it.

then, just last week, giant moths have invaded my work place. it's hard not to see a pattern here.

the more you know:

Mottephobia is the fear of moths

there is thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moths

Attacus atlas, the Atlas moth, is the largest moth, with a wingspan of 10in (WTFUCK)

the Death's-head Hawkmoth, Acherontia lachesis, (pictured above) is the scariest moth [not actual fact.] it also squeaks when irritated [actual fact,] which is weird. it has a starring role in Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Sphinx, and in the movie Silence of the Lambs. it is also the most "death-metal" of all moths [not actual fact.]

UPDATE 05.15.13: the moth's name was Gregor, after Kafka's The Metamorphosis, natch.