My Moth

The secret has been revealed! My moth eclosed on July 21, completing its life cycle. I released it the day it emerged, after I finished snapping off many photos of it (and before I’d gotten it identified).

The moth I reared from older caterpillar to adult was…

A Mouse Moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis)!

Possibly introduced from Europe (oops), these moths eat a variety of plants as caterpillars (mine just wanted dandelions, and lots of them). They can be identified by the triangle of black spots on each forewing.

According to ukmoths.org.uk, they may be called Mouse Moths because, when startled, they tend to run away like little mice instead of flying. That would fit with my experience while trying to re-catch it after I accidentally let it escape during its photo shoot.

All in all, raising that little caterpillar was a fun experience! And now I have a souvenir pupa skin to remember it by!

Caterpillars

In addition to writing, I’ve been busy designing a brochure about butterflies and moths of Fort St John. During my research, I learned a little about rearing caterpillars, and thought it would be fun to try raising local caterpillars.

In a lot of cases, caterpillars aren’t as well-studied by scientists as the adults. That leaves room for fun discoveries! So I prayed the opportunity would come to rear a caterpillar, and kept my eyes open to the ground.

While walking up to Tim Horton’s during a rainstorm, I found a caterpillar crawling along the pavement. So I took it home. Believing it to be a cutworm of some kind (some of the adult moths are called ‘darts’), I gave it a home where it could dig, as cutworms spend a lot of time underground. It chewed off a ‘cutting’ of some clover, spent time underground and above, and seemed to be behaving like a cutworm should.

I did a little research, and learned that some cutworms in our area ‘estivate’ during mid-summer - essentially, this is the summer version of hibernation. It appeared to be doing that: hiding itself in the substrate and never coming up to eat.

Sadly, I don’t think I set up the conditions for estivation well; and the cutworm died and shriveled up. Caterpillars get their water from their food, so I’m guessing it dehydrated - maybe they estivate somewhere with a good amount of moisture to make up for their lack of eating during this period.

My disappointment over losing this caterpillar was mitigated by the fact I’d already found another in my yard by a dandelion. It ate well, devouring dandelion leafs, growing, and pooping a lot.

As you can see in the bottom photos, one day, I found it weaving itself a cocoon! It took about two days to finish the cocoon and then pupate. Now, I have a little pupa waiting to ‘eclose’ (emerge)!

I’m not sure what species it is… I had been assuming it was a sulphur butterfly, since I’ve seen those in our yard and they too have green caterpillars. But they don’t spin cocoons, and their pupa looks quite a bit different. I’ve researched, but still don’t know what it is… so I’ll get a fun surprise when it ecloses!

Assuming it does, of course. Things can still go wrong in the pupa stage, and the moth could die during transformation. But I’m hoping for the best.

From what I gather, the transformation usually takes a few weeks. If or when the moth ecloses, I’ll send it in to be identified by the professionals at BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America), then let you know what kind of moth it is!

If you want to learn how to raise caterpillars, I’d recommend looking up “Bart Coppens butterflies.” He actually works mainly with moths, and rears both species that are exotic and ones that are native to his home in the Netherlands.

More Moths!

I’ve been having fun discovering more about local moths, and thought it’d be worth giving an update!

Yes, Moth Week is long over; in fact, there’s a thin layer of snow on the ground and a chill in the air, warning of the looming return of winter. However, I’ve still managed to make some interesting discoveries in the last month or two.

One is the moth below.

Yes, that is a moth! Years ago when I took the photo, I wasn’t sure what it was. It was cool, and a bug, so worth photographing. But recently, I sent the photo below to BAMONA for identification.

This is a Linden Looper Moth (Erannis tiliaria), sometimes called a Winter Moth because of how late in the year they emerge as adults. I did a little research and discovered that the moth in the second photo (just above) is the male. And the weird bug in the first photo? It’s the female!

Yes, in some moths the females have no wings. She lays her eggs near where she grew up as a caterpillar - likely not far from where her mother laid her eggs. The males have wings so they can seek out the grounded females.

Another cool discovery I made is this species, the Cow Parsnip Borer Moth (Papaipema harrisii).

This one is special to me because my sighting of this species is the first verified sighting for it on BAMONA! It makes me proud that I could contribute it.

If you enjoy taking photos of bugs, and want to learn about the bugs you’ve found, I recommend getting an account with BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America). It’s a simple way to participate in scientific research.

Want to find out more about some of the other moths I’ve photographed? I’ve finished putting together the beta version of a brochure called “A Few Butterflies and Moths of Fort St John.” I’ll be handing out these first copies to my ‘test audience,’ so I can get a good grasp on how best to improve the brochure for the second printing.

In addition, I printed a guide to local bats, which I’m excited to see arrive! Yes, it’ll hopefully be here just in time for Bat Week (the last week of October).

You can find out more about my local animal projects on my fsjcritters and fsjmoths pages.

Growing Where Planted

Back in the summer of 2016, a lady from our church received an honourary Degree of Arts for the work she has done in Fort St John.

Our pastor recognized her accomplishment, and asked her to share a little during the church service. As she came to the front and told her story, I sat fixated on what she said.

She spoke of how she’d arrived in our town a few decades ago, and was greeted by dirt roads and wooden sidewalks. (Our people have a lot of complaints about this town, but at least that’s improved!) Yet she knew that this would be home. Because before she departed for Fort St John, her father had left her with these words:

“Grow where you’re planted.”

And she followed his advice.

Grow: that’s a verb. It doesn’t imply sitting around and wishing things were better. As a plant grows, it takes in nutrients, reaches towards the light, and sends its roots down. It expands and does its best with what it’s given.

This lesson hasn't been an easy one for me. After traveling the world, and all the amazing places I've seen, settling down in Northern British Columbia was not my idea of a great life. I never felt at home here, and I long believed I never would.

But this is where I've been planted. And this is where I want to grow well. Not haphazardly. Not begrudgingly. With intention and strength.

So I took the message to heart, and applied myself to accepting - no, creating - a home here.

Two years later, and I can look back with gratitude for that decision. I've married and started a family. I've involved myself with a local Christian missions event. I'm caring for and updating our church's library. I've even volunteered for my community's gardening committee. Each decision has grown me in a new way, planted my roots here deeper - and, I hope, made a difference in this little corner of the world.

Pictures and the Words They Speak

It occurred to me that I'd made the chibi art project way too complicated.

Fighting over draft after draft, doing sketch after sketch. I at last remembered why I'd started this: for fun! So, instead of trying to wow you with my art skills, I returned to the simple pleasure of making a picture.

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Fiddling around with BookBat

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A playful sketch of BookBat enjoying a warm drink!

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Rough draft of Chibi characters... Tsingy (far left) left me unsatisfied, and the designer in me cringed at the big white space beside him...

Shortly after coming to that decision, I made a discovery while sorting through old notes. I uncovered a few of the pictures I'd made for Kingdom of Bats - back in the days before I'd published my very first book! Most of these pictures never made it to the final draft, and by extension were never shown to the world. I myself forgot they existed.

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One of my cover design ideas I sent to the publisher, of the vampire bat Patas looking down on the portal spiderweb to the Underworld

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Another cover design idea I sent the publisher, this one of Bai'ic in armour

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Sketches of the main characters in "Kingdom of Bats"

Seeing these images reminded me once more of where I've come, and the time, effort, and courage it took to get here.

I've been thinking about what started me on this authoring path. And though I've enjoyed writing since I was a child, I trace my decision to publish back to a day in my early adulthood.

I was in Switzerland, studying communications. Some of the weeks I struggled through. But the week on writing - ah, I came alive that week! Our teacher was a published author, and he led us in creative exercises, like "showing not telling" and writing a story about God watching people kiss (seriously). In nearly all exercises (except the kissing one) I blazed ahead confidently and excitedly.

At the end of the week, the teacher and I were together chatting. He told me something that would set me on my new path: a published author told me, "You're good enough to be doing what I'm doing."

Not many years later, I published Kingdom of Bats.

These pictures I re-discovered remind me of what I've learned. I hadn't been to design school yet, so didn't know the ins-and-outs of book cover designs (I forgive the publisher for not going with my designs). I actually did a lot more pictures than these, but didn't understand things like 'resolution,' so sketched them too small to be of any use. Eventually, I scrapped all but two images (the map and one good sketch).

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The map that actually made it into the book!

Each book, I've learned something new, and I believe I've grown in skills. But it all started with that one encouragement from my teacher.

Who has inspired you to take the next step in your dreams?

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The final Chibi picture!

Coming up: two short stories are ready for sharing! Keep an eye out for "Bridging Worlds" - the story between Kingdom of Bats and Dwelling in Darkness - and "Ramanga's Lightning," a playful prequel to Dwelling in Darkness. I'll begin posting the first story Monday.

Wingless Butterfly

Did you know there’s such thing as a wingless butterfly?

No, I’m not talking about a butterfly that had its wings torn off.

On the cold islands of the Southern Ocean, the winds’ force is nearly constant, rushing over the tree-less grasslands, harsh cliff-faces, rolling hills, and stony mountains.

Some birds have adapted wings perfectly shaped to take advantage of the gusts – so perfectly, they have trouble flying when the wind dies down. These birds are also fine-tuned for a life at sea, and can swim and dive and spend long periods of time soaring over the open ocean.

However, for a tiny creature like an insect, getting caught in the wind and carried out to sea is a death sentence. No point in having wide, air-capturing wings to tempt the wind’s malice. So nearly all the bugs on these islands have either no wings, or tiny wings designed only to give them some extra umph when they leap.

And here is where we find butterfly species that have conquered the islands by accepting the loss of their most admired trait: rather than the large, highly-decorated wings we expect from the butterfly family, their wings are non-existent or tiny grey flecks.

This is what brings me to my ‘existential’ query:

Is a butterfly still a butterfly without its wings?

What makes a butterfly a butterfly if not its wings? Scientists can give you their answer – but what is yours?

What about for me? If I never write another story, will I still be me?

What about for you? What do people define you by? Would you still be you without it?

The Age of Sail and a Novel to Come

There seems to be three eras that fantasy tales stick close to: the Medieval era, the classic fantasy stage; the futuristic era, creating the genre of sci-fi; and the modern era, favoured by superhero movies and comics.

But my favourite historical era is the Age of Sail (e.g. the Age of Exploration), and I think it makes a perfect match to the fantasy genre. This is the time when the Americas were being explored; when a route to India was sought by the East India Companies; when pirates plagued the seas; when a quest for the Southern Continent led to the discovery of Australia and Antarctica; and when rumours and accounts of sea monsters abounded.

Travel and fantastical beasts, quests and riches, greed and warfare… yes, core elements that make the Medieval era so loved are there, sans helpless princesses acting as damsels in distress (which maybe we can survive without anyways).

There are two stories that come to mind when I think of creators using well the Age of Sail for a fantasy tale. George Bryan Polivka captures the era in his novel Blaggard’s Moon, inserting imaginary creatures and locations into a world that feels strongly of the culture and ethical struggles of that age. And the games Torchlight and Torchlight 2 break from traditional fantasy role-playing games in introducing weapons like the pistol and rifle: more Age of Sail than Medieval, for sure; and the games take place on a recently-discovered continent (as explained in Torchlight 2 and on the game’s website).

The Age of Sail was an era of change, which I believe is the reason it’s not as popular as the Middle Ages for fantasy story-telling. If one never strays from the Medieval era, the characters can change, but the world will be mostly the same generation after generation. That creates a sense of stability, perhaps of timelessness and romanticism.

However, in reality, the world alters, and those of us in the modern era face changes and challenges constantly. The Age of Sail captures this. Discovery of new continents means new cultures: how do we react to these natives? The invention of gunpowder changes warfare: is it more important to retain the romance and customs of the traditional swordfight, or to use technology to give our side a distinct advantage? And of course, the sailing ship opens up both great opportunity and great risk: we can cross oceans to find glory, riches, and fame, but will we succumb to pirates, storms, disease, and monsters along the way?

The Age of Sail is ripe with opportunity for cross-cultural interactions, and the character development and growth that result. As someone who has traveled cross-culturally on multiple occasions, I appreciate the lessons and stretches that come with such adventures.

That’s why I’m proud to introduce my next book, Tales of the Diversity: The Quest. This is a world I’ve pondered, developed, and loved for several years: an Age of Sail fantasy adventure full of unique cultures, creatures, and locations inspired by my own journeys.

Tracy Krauss, an award-winning and best-selling author of Christian fiction, did me the honour of reading the rough draft, and had this to say: “With sparkling prose and deep characterization, Karlissa J has emerged as a fresh yet formidable voice in the YA fantasy genre.” I believe this book is the best I’ve written to date, and I’m excited to share this story with you!

Tales of the Diversity: The Quest will likely be coming out early next year. There will be sneak peaks and updates to satisfy you until then!