Moth on Mt. Hermon

Four months ago I travelled to the northernmost tip of Israel to spend 4 days photographing butterflies on the peak of Mt. Hermon. June 2013 was not kind to this plan. The battles raged on the other side of the mountain, in the killing fields of Syria. The Israeli military closed Mt. Hermon to non-military visitors. Kaput to our plan to enlarge our library of unique, Mt. Hermon-only butterflies. War! War! War! Each week that goes by, a mortar shell or other ordinance arrives from the Syrian side, so the closing of Mt. Hermon is necessary. In the next weeks we will be adding images taken from the vicinity of a small village near the base of the mountain.

This moth was photographed on Mt. Hermon when we ascended it in 2008. It flew towards me, and landed several feet away. Struck by the beauty of its wings, I worked to collect a good image of it. It may be a moth found throughout Israel, Syria and Lebanon, or like some of the Hermon butterflies, it may be a protected species, peculiar only to the mountain. I await the input of Israeli moth and butterfly enthusiasts.

Beautfiul moth above, destruction below. Yikes!

Jeff