[Cultural question] Why Americans seem to hate moths?

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Darmok
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13 Jul 2018, 8:09 pm

I think we definitely need a Moth Appreciation Thread. :mrgreen:

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Cash__
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13 Jul 2018, 9:54 pm

This post is confusing me. People don't like moths. I have never heard of that and I don't know anyone who doesn't like moths.

spiders, ticks, chiggers..I know plenty of people that don't like those. But moths? I never even heard o fit..

The_Face_of_Boo
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14 Jul 2018, 7:00 am

Cash__ wrote:

But look at the responses, many americans indeed hate moths.

And only now i am understanding why (the bible).

kraftiekortie
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14 Jul 2018, 7:25 am

I don’t dislike moths at all...

isloth
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14 Jul 2018, 7:51 am

AshtenS wrote:

They are big, hairy, eat clothes, and they like to congregate wherever there are lights on thus making it impossible to open windows at night without summoning an army.

Yeah I think they can be a known nuisance. Can be especially annoying if you open a window/sliding door and one gets in the house and then noisily flaps around. Probably less common of an issue if you live in a big city? I think people are just more likely to remember the annoying experience they have with common moths than they are to think of some pretty exotic moth.

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MaxE
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14 Jul 2018, 8:13 am

The_Face_of_Boo wrote:

We need to look into the Aramaic texts.

The verse is from the Christian bible, the original version of which was written in Greek. Which @Darmok has supplied.

AFAIK the only religion with liturgy (not certain with regard to scripture) in Aramaic is Judaism. The Mourner's Kaddish, which anyone who has attended a Jewish funeral (as many have in the US) is in Aramaic, always has been.

Of course if any part of the bible was originally written in Aramaic, it would have a Jewish origin anyway, even if Christians are using it. AFAIK the entirety of the actual Christian bible (that part which is unique to the Christian religion) was originally in (ancient) Greek.

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Slug on a Bike
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14 Jul 2018, 8:28 am

I'm fascinated
by insects,
including moths.
Often they have
very interesting antennae.

But I don't like
Indian-meal moths
showing up in my kitchen.
They're after my staples,
and those are mine
mine mine.

Kids in my neighborhood
are suckers for the
flashy celebs,
like ladybugs
and butterflies,
but try to kill
everything else,
including moths.

So by generalizing,
(Americans, moths)
the question becomes
hard to answer.

The_Face_of_Boo
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14 Jul 2018, 1:44 pm

Slug on a Bike wrote:

Yes, the rice /indianmeal moths are annoying little bastards because they get into food.

The_Face_of_Boo
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14 Jul 2018, 1:46 pm

isloth wrote:

AshtenS wrote:

They are big, hairy, eat clothes, and they like to congregate wherever there are lights on thus making it impossible to open windows at night without summoning an army.

I live in a city and I do get a lot of moths uninvited. Big and fluffy ones.

But they are usually silent fliers, I have never encountered a moth that makes noise - maybe there's no such species of noisy moth where i live.

dragonsanddemons
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15 Jul 2018, 4:42 pm

Several times when I've gone to camp, I've seen luna moths there, perched on something for the daytime. Last year or the previous year (I don't remember which now), I also saw several of these, which, as with many moths, aren't as flashy as the typical butterfly but are still quite pretty.

Some moths are also just as important in pollination as butterflies are - not all of them eat wool or grain.

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The_Face_of_Boo
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16 Jul 2018, 4:15 am

^ and only larvaes eat, most adult moths drink nectar, like butterflies.

Misslizard
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16 Jul 2018, 8:12 am

I like moths.Some have cute fuzzy antennae,not sure if that’s the right spelling for that appendage.
We have Luna moths, rosy maple moths and the giant Sphinx moth.
I just keep my woolens in a cedar closet and the moths don’t bother them.
Once one got in my ear,didn’t care much for that one.
Now on the other hand,I have absolutely no desire to see the Mothman of Mt.Pleasant.

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kraftiekortie
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16 Jul 2018, 9:23 am

Perhaps moths don't "eat" wool----but they certainly damage it.

I say this as a person who really doesn't especially dislike moths.

isloth
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16 Jul 2018, 9:44 am

The_Face_of_Boo wrote:

Yeah, my mistake. They make noise because they constantly ram/get stuck in lamps and stuff, not because they make it themselves :oops:

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Misslizard
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16 Jul 2018, 11:41 am

I have mixed feelings about Mothra.

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jrjones9933
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16 Jul 2018, 2:57 pm

The_Face_of_Boo wrote:

Darmok wrote:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal." (Matthew 6.19)

Doesn't work if you substitute "butterflies."

Interesting, I looked into the Arabic version of that:

مت 6 :19 لا تكنزوا لكم كنوزا على الارض حيث يفسد السوس و الصدا و حيث ينقب السارقون و يسرقون

There's no word of 'moth' in this sentence, it's 'Sous' which means small beetles / weevils ......

and now in French:

"19 Ne vous amassez pas des trésors sur la terre, où la teigne et la rouille détruisent, et où les voleurs percent et dérobent;"

There's no "Moth" here either nor "night butterfly" but instead of it there's the "la teigne" which means a kind of skin disease, it's not even an insect.

So aha!! That's the source of your irrational hatred for moths, Americans, it's your Bible translation!!

And btw, only very few species of moths ' larvaes eat clothes. The ones that evolved among human habitas.

Northern Europeans likely wear more wool and mohair than people on the Mediterranean.

That, and the king James bible thing.

Mothra was acting in self-defense, and isn't aggressive.

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