Hmmm, can we find inspiration in a creature so small it is rarely even noticed?
As you will know if you follow my posts, I have long been an admirer of butterflies and dragonflies. I have spent many a summer day trekking through conservation areas in pursuit of these winged wonders and snapping photographs of them.
I was always aware that there were innumerable other insects in the habitats I was frequenting. But it is only in the last year, since I retired and since I invested in better photographic equipment, that my interest (arguably my obsession) expanded to the full spectrum of insects of which there are an astonishing 44,000 + species in Canada.
The El nino winter we are experiencing in this area has made it possible to continue to pursue this interest throughout the winter months. And in that time, I have become a particular admirer of the miniscule yet mighty Winter Midge as shown at the head of this post. Such an elegant creature it is with its translucent wings, feathery antennae and spidery, thread-sized legs.
It seems improbable that these mosquito-sized insects could survive winter temperatures. And yet they do. I have learned that they can survive freezing below –20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) by suppressing their freeze-point with antifreeze-like biomolecules in their blood.
So when most other insects are dormant, Winter Midges are often still out and about. However, they have only a very short time to enjoy their resilience. Their lifespan is little over a month most of which is spent in larvae stage. Their adult life lasts a mere three to five days.
Live in the moment takes on new meaning when you’re a Midge. So it seems appropriate to nominate the Winter Midge as a random act of metaphor for the need to make the most of the time we have – for that time may be far shorter than we imagine.
~ Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
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Tags: live in the moment · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Winter MidgeNo Comments