The Last of the Mohicans

No, the following image is not that of a Mohican - let alone that of the last of them. It is that of a Moth, that I believe, is called Trichopterigia cf. decorate.

Still alive even after two months after it should rightfully be dead!

So?? Why is it so important that it deserves a post on my Blog?

It is important because it is the ABSOLUTE LAST MOTH that I photographed for the year 2025 – it was acquired at the Pangrizampa Bazam, Dechencholing, on 3rd of December, 2025 at 9:38 AM.

Really?? Still, why is that newsworthy?

It is newsworthy because, according to Lepidopterology, the Moth should have been long DEAD! According to the science, the Moth season at Thimphu’s elevations usually begins around April and ends by September.

The fact that the Moth was still alive - even after two months of its date of expiry - goes to validate an important life-lesson that I learnt in the jungles of Yongkala, some 10-15 years back:

That there are rules and there are laws – but as rigid as they are – they are not without EXCEPTIONS! That there are always exceptions …. and those exceptions help keep the most draconian of laws and rules honest, and humane.

……………………………

BACKGROUND:

It was during one early morning of April some 10-15 years back. I was chasing one of Bhutan’s prettiest Pheasants – called the Satyr Tragopan  (Tragopan satyra). But I found myself involuntarily confined inside my tent – by the wayside of a forest in Yongkala – a bird rich habitat in the East of the country. I was waiting for the torrential rain to pass - so that I may drive over to a particular spot in Sengore – some distance away from where I was camped.

I was waiting for the rain to pass because I believed that if it rained in Yongkala, it would surely be raining in Sengore as well – just 15-20 minutes’ drive away from where I was tented.

When, finally, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear, I began driving towards Sengore – only to find, to my surprise, that the place was bone dry and the skies were sparkling blue in the morning sun. Apparently, it did not rain a drizzle in the area!

That day I learnt a very important life-lesson:

!! DO NOT BE PRESUMPTUOUS !!

Thanks to the lesson I learnt that soggy morning in Sengore more than a decade back - that nature does not always follow a set course of pattern or behavior – this year I was able to photograph a beautiful Moth – two months outside its season! Had I believed in the absoluteness of the accepted rules, or laws, I would be dearer by one beautiful Moth!