So today I was stuck in traffic on the freeway and I noticed a large moth fly out from beneath the car in front. It fluttered around the rear of the car, sped up and then flew back under to its hiding place.
Then, a few moments later it flew out again, fluttered around in the wake of the car and then sped-up and flew back under the car.
It did this until we hit about 60km/hr and then it stayed under the car.
Even though it was large, moths still have flimsy wings and fairly flimsy body structures. But this thing was keeping up with a car doing up to 60kms. I have to assume it was taking a lot of it’s movement from the draft of the car (like cyclists do to conserve energy) but I became entirely transfixed on this display while driving (and terrified that I’d run it over if it slipped out of the car’s ‘jet stream’).
It didn’t. I didn’t. And I have no idea where it ended up.
God’s speed, little moth! Nature really is amazingly well designed.
