A Caterpillar Calls

I’ve still not ventured to the other side of the room to dig out my old fieldnotes from the D.O. journeys with C.

I’m guessing one of the reasons is that I have terrible handwriting and often I can’t read back my own notes anyway, or if I can, then odds are I would have written them in some sort of code that amused me at the time but whose key to cracking evades me at later dates…

Fortunately, although somewhat haphazardly, I took out insurance against my own stupidity and forgetfulness and even though I had forgotten about these typed up notes, today, I accidentally found them…

Here is a note I sent to C :

I’ve just been reading about our very enlightened caterpillar… he will turn into the Cinnabar Moth – remember that red and black day moth that was on your fish tank… anyway… good job we didn’t touch him as he is highly poisonous, enough to cause rashes and irritation to humans. He’s usually around July/Aug… Voracious eater and mostly eats ragwort (which is poisonous to horses…) he’s never in a rush, even as a moth, and has a very flimsy cocoon – he seems to rely on his poison to not get eaten. He has few predators but there’s a species of ant and also the cuckoo who will eat him… This reminds me again of the Linden Leaf / Achilles heel myth… Also I found interesting his tendency to cannibalism … sometimes when food is in short supply (side effect of having few predators…) but sometimes and for no apparent reason… he will eat his brothers and sisters… which made me LOL as that seems to be an Old God type of diet…

I also found a conversation between myself and C about a rooster. Fun stuff! But too rude to share here. (I’m open to PayPal bribes and appeals to reveal, from the nosy🤣)