I’ll be the first to admit that more than a few things frighten me – unleashed dogs, letters from the IRS, taking out my son’s lunch box to pack on Monday morning only to discover the lunch I thought he had eaten on Thursday is still inside.
While
everyone is entitled to his or her own individual obsession – such as
arachibutyrophobia (the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of your
mouth) or gelotophobia (the fear of laughter) – there is one phobia, called
nyctophobia, fear of the dark, that affects almost half American adults today.
Triggered by threats that are either real or imagined, it prevents people from
going out at night, sometimes just to the car to get a bag they forgot to bring
in earlier, and causes panic during power failures.
A high
percentage of the cases, though, may not be related to a lack of light at all
but to the fear of the unknown. In the dark, shapes are no longer distinct,
their outlines blurred, their colors muted. Unrecognized sounds stir your
imagination to a near frenzy and creep frightfully into your thoughts. There
are things out there that dart past when you get out of the car and are
ostensibly standing vigil right outside your bedroom window waiting for the
perfect moment to pounce. But really, the creatures of the night are like their
daytime counterparts; they just move in the moonlight instead of stand in the
sunshine. Perhaps we can shed some light on these unknown creatures that start
their day once the stars come out.
Right
Off the Bat
You
might think that you've never seen a bat yourself, but it's very likely that
you have seen them flying around at dusk. Although bats have gotten a bad rap
over the years, they are actually extremely helpful. In some places they
pollinate flowers, but in many others (including Baltimore), they eat insects
such as mosquitoes, moths, and stink bugs. Bats save us around $3 billion
dollars in pest control per year, with each one able to eat over 1,000
mosquitoes an hour. To fully understand their valuable service, keep in mind
that they are not only shielding us from the torment of the existing millions
of insects. Mosquitos can lay around 200 eggs, which become adults in under two
weeks. Without the bats’ preventative protection, we would be buried under mountains
of mosquitoes by the end of the summer.
Some
bats even choose their bugs specifically to be different from the bugs that
other bats in the same area are eating in order to actively reduce competition.
It’s inspiring how they are able to be “mevater”
something they want in order to avoid fighting among themselves.
Bats
are also the only mammals that can truly fly. (Flying foxes just glide.) The
Eastern Red Bat, the most common type of bat in Maryland, can reach speeds of
up to 40 mph. (That’s faster than I usually drive!) Zigzagging through the air
to catch their prey, the fact that they never stop flapping their wings makes
them easily distinguishable from birds, which alternate flapping a few times
and then gliding on the air currents. Bats also have a signature shape since
their wings connect with their ankles, whereas birds’ wings attach to their
sides. In the autumn, when the temperature drops, the insects that make up
bats’ food supply disappear, and they either migrate or hibernate until spring.
Lighten
Up
Fireflies,
sometimes called lighting bugs, are neither flies nor bugs. They are actually
beetles with hard shells over their wings and light. They don’t bite or sting,
so you can feel comfortable catching them with your bare hands, as long as
you’re gentle. And, of course, always set them free to live their little
lightning bug lives; they live only about two weeks as adults, so every day
counts.
Even
these insects can’t hurt you if you touch them, they are highly toxic, so,
don't eat them! They contain the chemical luciferin, which makes them glow
yellow, orange, or green and is an effective, poisonous deterrent to make sure
they do not become anyone’s midnight snack.
Even
their eggs and larvae can glow, adding spots of light to the surrounding
darkness. Flashing their light to communicate with one another, the males
usually take to the air, waiting for the females in the grass to respond. They
bring the glitter of stars right into our backyards, illuminating the trees in
a breathtaking evening display.
Like a
Moth to a Flame
Most
of us see moths mostly when they congregate around the porch or deck light. It
is thought that they use moonlight to fly, so electric lights confuse them.
Moths range in size from 0.04 of an inch to 11 inches! While most are
nocturnal, some are active during the day. So how do you know if what you’re
looking at is a moth or a butterfly?
Their
wings are similar, but they hold them very distinctly when at rest, with moths
laying their wings flat out to the sides, while butterflies hold theirs
straight up and down. In addition, moths have thick, feathery antennae, and
butterflies have long, thin ones. Even their caterpillar stages are different:
Moth caterpillars can be fuzzy or smooth, but butterflies are only smooth. So,
if you find a fuzzy caterpillar, it’s definitely a junior moth. We can learn
from these graceful, airborne insects that the stages of our lives have
specific goals and priorities and that we should enjoy each one for the beauty
it brings.
Night
Owls
Owls
live in Baltimore. Although I have never seen one, I hear them all the time. Surprisingly,
not all owls are nocturnal; a few are active during the day. They glide
silently on oversized wings to catch small rodents, birds, fish, snakes,
spiders, and lizards. They are able to pinpoint the location of their prey
because one of their ears is placed higher on their head than the other, giving
them a 3D sense of sound. Their eyes are tube shaped (instead of round like
ours) so they cannot glance from side to side. To make up for their rigidity,
owls can twist their entire head 135 degrees to see basically everything around
them. Despite the fact that they have been the symbols of wisdom throughout the
ages, owls have not proven themselves smarter than other birds. Still, we can
admire their efficiency and focus in living each day (or night).
Robber
Barons
Raccoons
have long, dexterous fingers that enable them to open containers, lift lids,
and manipulate small items. They are as comfortable in cities as they are in
the countryside, enjoying the easy wealth of dumpsters. Indeed, they are
occasionally spotted in our neighborhoods. Their habit of taking things from
garbage cans and having masked faces have labeled them as thieves, but the
purpose of the black band of fur around their eyes is to enhance their night
vision by reducing glare (much like the black lines football players put under
their eyes). Many assume that raccoons are very clean animals because they like
to wash their food before eating it. The truth is that raccoons have been
observed rubbing their food even when no water was present. Rather than
cleaning their food, their paws are more sensitive when they’re wet, so the
water helps them feel what they’re eating. Even with dry paws, rubbing the food
first allows them to fully activate their sense of touch.
Raccoons
can carry rabies as well as other diseases and may not show any outward signs
of being sick. In general, as with all wild animals, it’s better not to get too
close. Although raccoons only account for around a third of rabies cases, it’s
crucial to call a doctor if bitten. You can try to keep them out of your yard,
but they are excellent climbers, not easily intimidated, and quick to learn.
Loud, sudden noises will scare them, but just putting up wind chimes will not
help; they are so smart that they realize the sounds pose no threat unless you
change their location regularly. They also don’t like certain harsh scents, but
neither do your neighbors, so I don’t recommend that strategy.
It’s
Always Darkest Before the Dawn
The
second pasuk in the Torah asserts
that the world began in the dark. But the third pasuk reveals that light is stronger. Regardless of how oppressive
the deepest midnight can be, it’s easily punctured by patience and care. The
dark is frightening, but it is not forever.
In the
ascending intensity of the makkos (plagues)
in Mitzrayim, darkness was second only to Makkas
Bechoros. Erev, the Hebrew word
for evening, alludes to a mixture, a blurring of boundaries, an uncertainty.
This directly connects the dread of the dark with the aversion to the unknown.
The pitch-black air can close in and smother you, filling you with fear and
refusing to let go. A friendly backyard may feel threatening once the sun goes
down, but simply turning on a single light can calm our racing hearts and
encourage us to venture out. Now that you know more about what is out there,
you can be brave. It is worth a moment’s reflection to consider what else we
might be avoiding only because we don’t know enough. Many resist learning new
things, deepening their connection with others, or improving their tefillah only because they’re still
sitting in the dark – paralyzed by the thought of moving out of their well-lit
comfort zone. Sometimes, to bring on a new dawn, we have to shine a light in
our hearts.
Debbie
Glazer lives in Pikesville with her family and teaches language arts in Bnos
Yisroel High School. She can often be found either writing or reading and loves
to share her passion for the written word with others.
