When Giant Moths Attack!

I have been labeled a tree-hugger because of this recent event, and I'm not ashamed of it!

The other night I arrived home around 1:30 in the morning after a late night at work. My family had kindly left the side steps light on so that I wouldn't have to stumble up the way to the side door. Unfortunately, when my father built our house, he didn't have the best design sense in the world, and placed the light just above the right corner of the door.

I am terrified of moths. They scare me with their constant sporadic flapping and bumping into things. There was a giant cloud of moths and other assorted insects of the night clinging to the wall around this light. They were also all over the door to the house. No matter, I thought. I'll just try my best to get inside quickly.

But then I saw it. The biggest moth I've seen in years - with a wingspan as big as both my hands laid out on a table! It was just sitting above the doorknob, enjoying the light.

What could I do? I had to get inside to sleep for another day at work, but the moth was in my way. If I knocked it off, would it just flutter up and land on my head or on my back? I was struck dumb!

After trying to get the attention of anyone who might be awake in the house to help me turn off the light, I had to do the only thing left - and that was to hurry into the house and hope that the moth didn't follow me. Of course, it did follow me, and I had to catch it in a bucket and then enlist the help of my brother to release it back outside on the front porch this time. I bet I looked so ridiculous, trying to coax the frantic moth into the bucket, trapping it inside with a piece of paper. I couldn't kill it! It's a part of nature, and it wasn't really doing anything on purpose to bother me.

Thankfully, it is back in the wild, living its life of whatever moths do - most likely sleeping in the daytime. Needless to say, the side light will not be on in the future if the moths are going to swarm at me like some plague out of The Mummy!