ROBERT SNAP SPOT
Camouflage, Macro and Monochrome Monday Moth
An overnight guest, a floor disguise, and an unexpected flight.
Monochrome Monday · Macro Monday · Insect World
Wait, Look Down Again
A moth flew through the condo’s open sliding doors during the night. Our ocean facing condo shines light into the infinite darkness of night and attracts all manner of flying insects. “Thud!” “Plunk!” Another hit on glass walls.
By morning, we couldn’t find him anywhere. Strange!
Well, where could a moth go in here?
“I looked at the floor. Then I looked for somebody on it.”
– Robert
Oh! There he was, tucked into the marbled pattern beneath our feet.
Look again with me. He nearly fooled this photographer!
Not Even an Antenna Twitch
Once I spotted him, out came the iPhone. Well, at first I actually told Neal to stay out of the “photo zone”. He has a habit of disturbing my desired subjects before I can get one shot.
Up close, his wing markings gave me plenty to photograph.
I moved around him, trying several different angles.
Not even an antenna twitch. As you can image. That had me wondering.
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
Camouflaged Life
I walk across that floor every day without giving its pattern much attention. After finding our visitor, I started looking at the flecks and patches around him. The floor suddenly had details worth stopping for. How many times had I crossed it while looking somewhere else?
Out on a photo walk, I’m ready to notice things. Inside the condo, I’m usually headed from one room to another. Apparently, I had decided the interesting wildlife would wait outdoors. This fella had other arrangements.
Not Home Alone
Our visitor appears to be a Deadwood Borer Moth, and he had found a remarkably good match for his wings. With two adults and a dog trampling around the condo, how had he avoided getting “squished” underfoot? Keen survival skills, a bit of luck, or both? I kept taking photographs while he stayed perfectly still.
By then, I thought he must have been dead. When I lifted him, he suddenly looked a much darker, warm brown. So peaceful and kinda curled up.
Woe!!! A moment later, his wings became a blur and he launched from my hand. So Alive, then!
Okay, Robert, this fella may need something besides another photograph.
My photography session had become a rescue mission, complete with a brief and highly uncoordinated chase. TIB: Our little mister moth was much better at flying than I was at directing traffic. At last, he was safely released from the condo balcony to carry on life outdoors in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Dressed to Match Marble
Before his sudden departure, I had time to save these closer looks.
The fine lines and scattered dots are easier to follow at this distance. As you can see, step back just a little though, and his outline starts getting lost in the floor again.
The Brown Side of Our Guest
In my hand, I could finally see the brown underneath those pale wings. In my mind I thought, “Had he changed color? Or had I finally seen his other side?”
“Flutter!” A very brief viewing, as it turned out!
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Come Compare Your Moth Vision
The pale floor views draw me toward monochrome yet that warm brown underneath has me thinking sepia. Are my eyes playing with me? Tell me which treatment you’d choose, and bring back any surprise visitor who turns up before our next photo chat.
Who was your last uninvited houseguest?
“Sometimes a tiny life needs rescuing, even when it insists on flying away from the rescuer”
— Robert
📍 Ponte Vedra, Florida
Collection
Monochrome Monday, Beach
Captured with
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Published by
Robert Snap Spot
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