Tuesday, April 03, 2007

beautiful but little understood...



Joseph Scheer is a perfect companion for yesterdays post on Allyson Reynolds. Scheer has developed a photographic process where he takes detailed images of moths and reveals their secret colors, feathery scales in brilliant patterns and delicate fronded antenae. Scheer's book "Night Visions- The Secret Designs of Moths" contains an essay by Mark Epstein examining the beauty and variety of moths, their lifecycle and the scientific difference between a moth and a butterfly. I love his conclusion that,


"Ultimately it is best to think of butterflies as being one of several experiments in the evolution of day-flying Lepidoptera, the species overwhelmingly dominated by beautiful but little understood moths."(pp.13)


2 comments:

Rebecca-the-Wrecker said...

well i take back what i said about you being focused on butterflies!! a nod to the moths is much appreciated by the furry creatures of the night.

Printz said...

I loved lookng at your site. You have drawn together such a diverse range of delightful pieces.
I think having a Butterfly and Moth week is a great idea. Here is a butterfly I photographed last year. There was a mass hatching somewhere South of Brisbane and they fly up the coast and then out to sea somewhere (no one seems to kno where). http://www.flickr.com/photos/royjackward/173560114/