We have been enjoying a few days' holiday in Rome where life came up with one of its many coincidences. I have written quite a lot recently about May Bugs or cockchafers and their rich history, including the fact that the electrical pioneer Nicola Tesla harnessed four of the poor little things to a model aeroplane as one of his youthful inventions.
Well, guess what? In the bathroom of the air bnb where we stayed in Rome, there was this sentimental print of two young women messing about with a butterfly net - and, amazingly, a May Bug on the end of a ribbon. I don't know what you make of this kind of thing but I suppose that it does at least show an interest in natural history. Mind you, the lady in question looks a bit vacuous, like the oversized statues of Castor and Pollux on the steps up the Palatine.
Back to the moths (and doubtless this year's last May Bugs) soon.
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