Kate Breakey: 70 Moths opened last Saturday with a bang, marking the start of the summer season at the gallery! For those who missed the opening, the show will be up through August 30th so be sure to stop by to get a closer look at these gorgeous photographs. To learn more about Kate's inspiration for the show, keep reading.
MOTHS
My fascination with moths began long ago, perhaps because they go unnoticed and are somewhat unloved. They are primarily nocturnal and often drab—not as colorful or iconic as butterflies—but they are staggeringly beautiful if you look closely enough. There are 160,000 known species (10 times more than butterflies), ranging from almost invisibly tiny to the size of a human hand. Fossil remains suggest that insects (including moths’ ancestors ) have been on Earth for 480 million years, -1600 times longer than our species of Homo sapiens, who have been here roughly 300,000 years, I've made these little creatures monumental to see nature’s most exquisite details because something terrible and heartbreaking is happening.
We are entering a ‘Sixth mass extinction.’ 72 species become extinct every day. Our unsustainable use of land, energy, and water and the resulting habitat loss, climate change, and infectious diseases are causing birds, bees, bats, and insects to die off at an alarming rate. This decline is devastating for many reasons, including their role as pollinators, since 75% of all plants, including the food crops that feed the world's population, rely on pollination. Ironically, we are inadvertently killing the very creatures we depend on. This is due to our woeful ignorance and inability to recognize how inextricably interconnected and dependent we are on the natural world. We constantly, thoughtlessly, upend this delicate balance with pesticides and pollution and wonder why we no longer hear birdsong or the chirping of frogs. We have yet to experience the ultimate consequences, which are unthinkable.
Here are some extraordinary things about moths.
Feathered antennae are unique to moths and are net-like apparatuses designed to catch the scent that females release (called pheromones). One pheromone molecule can be caught floating on the wind from miles away. Having detected this molecule, male moths will fly as far as 30 miles to find a female.
Tiger moths have evolved bold patterns that signal to their predators that they are poisonous or bad-tasting. Some also have giant ‘eye-like’ markings, an optical illusion that makes them appear to be owls to scare off birds. Among their predators are bats who can't see these visual deterrents, so some species of moths can emit sounds that interfere with the echolocation bats use to hunt them.
Another survival strategy is to become invisible by blending in. Many moths look like bark, leaves, or lichen. This way of camouflaging is called ‘Background matching.’ Similarly triangular markings break up the moth's shape into less 'moth-shaped' sections.
When you look at these little creatures, know they may soon be gone forever.
Kate Breakey 2024