The varying sizes, colors and shapes of these moth scales make for an interesting abstract image.

Presents and moths are usually both covered in something, but only one of them flakes off into dust at a mere touch (unless you get some really cheap wrapping paper and then that stuff never comes off your hands). This post is kind of a “Holiday Miracle” or more precisely a “stretch,” but it was started because I was thinking about indispensable things like moth scales versus indisposable things like wrapping paper. Except the latter isn’t indisposable but the very opposite. The word I was thinking of was actually unrecyclable. Pretty sure you can’t recycle moth scales either. But wrapping paper can’t mute noise to evade bat sonar either.  At least I got the indispensable part right.

As for the photograph, narrow depth of field is once again on display. The slight contours of the wings and curve of the abdomen make it hard to get a large swath into even focus. Hopefully there is enough detail here to illustrate some of the magical intricacy covering a moth.