Reporter's notebook: Witchy wings

It's a bird, it's a butterfly, it's a bat - it's none of the above. It might be an omen of death or portent of good luck, depending on the circumstances. It's a Black Witch Moth.

That's the popular name for Ascalaphus odoratus, a seasonal sighting in these parts - and at that one of the largest of its kind, with a wingspan up to six inches. Its size and impressive coloring can stop a person in their tracks, just as it stopped a local last week on a chance encounter with the nocturnal insect roosting outside in a splash of artificial light in downtown Clovis.

"The moth family Noctuidae contains such members as cutworms, armyworms, underwings, and millers. None will stand out and be remembered except maybe for their numbers," says an entry in "50 Common Insects of the Southwest," available at Clovis' local library. "The black witch, though, is unforgettable. This grand moth used to be regarded as a fly-in from Mexico late in the summer, with tattered specimens showing up in U.S. border states."

Much of the introductory scholarship on the species says they prefer tropical or subtropical environments in Mexico, Central America and certain Carribean islands, but have been known to migrate to the southern U.S. starting in late spring.

The sinister and spectacular moth has amassed itself a good deal of folklore across various regions, ranging from a sign in south Texas that one should play the lottery to a harbinger of hair loss if it flies over your head further south.

"The black witch, called micpapalotl in Mexico, is an omen of death if it lands on your door," says 50 Common Insects. "Some of the country people of Mexico harvest the larvae, which they dry, cook, and serve in tortillas with salsa. Such resources cannot be overlooked when protein sources are otherwise scarce."

Life and death are a delicate balance - the opposite side of fortune is often calamity. Sometimes you eat bugs, sometimes you make a transcontinental voyage. It can be a beautiful and bewitching experience, like a man meeting a migrant moth for a moment in May.

- Compiled by Staff Writer David Grieder