Photo description: two moths in the dryer with a wool dryer ball
I’ve started a new campaign to keep the moth community sparkling clean: Moth Balls! Toss the ball into the dryer and it releases hundreds of detail oriented nocturnal lepidopteran insects to scour clothing. Ew, no, I’m kidding, April Fools. Gah, the thought (shudder).
I did find moths in my dryer at the dawn of Spring. They were safely transported outside. It was weird finding them there, though. We’ve lived here for seven years and I’ve never before found flying insects in the dryer. I wonder if I have a crack or breakage somewhere.
Photo description: moth rescued from the dryer on a piece of paper
Here is a quick project for found butterfly wings. We often find deceased butterflies in the yard, and in December 2011, we had some amazingly intact wings. Jewelry sections of hobby stores often have premade pendant frames that are two pieces of thin glass or plastic held together with a metal frame. I found these square frames, opened them, and carefully cut the butterfly wings to fit the glass.
Photo description: four square framed pendants with monarch butterfly wings sandwiched between glass
I am amazed at the durability of these pendants. I decided they looked better on our tree, so rather than necklaces, I made them into ornaments by adding a hook. They are some of my favorite ornaments and are still gracing our tree 13 years later.
It is a little startling to be singing along at chorus practice, inside, and have a wasp land on your flower tattoo. I walked it outside and blew it off my arm before going back to rehearsal.
Photo description: wasp on my arm near the silk moth my black and white floral tattoo celebrating fiber sources
A testament to the skill of my tattoo artist, I guess!
Here is my favorite fruit fly trap. Why do we need a trap? Well this is a story. Griffin, our dog, has started getting into the trash in his old age. All the trash, even the small containers by chairs that usually only collect tissues and orange peels. So we replaced the open bin with a trash can with an attached lid. The dog can’t get in, but the orange peels and closed environment make a lovely breeding ground for fruit flies. I found some lovely large golden nugget mandarins at the farmer’s market, which came with extra passengers. The extra passengers loved the orange peel offerings and the safe breeding environment. We started noticing a few pesky fliers, which is unusual because our house spiders usually do a good job keeping the gnat population down. I put out this trap, which is a mason jar with apple cider vinegar in the bottom, and a cone made of card stock attached with washi tape on the top. It is easy for the flies to crawl down into the cone and through the small hole, but it is very difficult for them to fly out.
Photo description: fruit fly trap made of a mason jar, card stock, washi tape, and apple cider vinegar, showing a dozen flies trapped inside
I’ll leave this trap out until all the flies inside have died. We did take care of the fly nursery by cleaning it out and lining the can. Funny how one factor can tip the scales out of balance. My house spiders are probably stuffed.
Critters and Craft 