So ends the story of A Moth (Genus Unknown) by Herbert George Wells, best know to the world for such novels as The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Invisible Man. H.G. Wells was a prolific writer at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, his novels cover the gamut of Darwinian Evolution to Planetary Exploration. He was also a writer of short stories, these dealt with subtle horrors of the world to down right nightmarish creations. Among these is the short story of an unknown moth.

In A Moth (Genus Unknown) a bitter dispute between two entomologists, Hapley and Pawkins, that encompasses years leads to the untimely death of Pawkins. Although the death is not a murderous one, it weighs heavy on the living squabbler. The survivor, Hapley, after living for years previously just to dispute and argue truths and facts with the departed Pawkins, now has to go on without him. And that now brings about the revelation that he no longer can, his life was devoted to shattering Pawkins professional and personal life.

This lays down the framework of the story, for now without the antagonist of Pawkins, Hadley must find a new medium to argue. That is until he sees a strange moth one night:

The moth, now in question, can be viewed literally or figuratively. If one chooses a literal translation, then the moth Hapley is pursuing is as he proclaims "Genus unknown". Such taxonomic statements are difficult if not impossible to make upon first notice of an animal, but some creative freedom in fiction must be allowed.

There are on record numerous occurrences of new insect life having been described in recent times. These run the gamut of predicted species to accidental alien species introduced to an ecosystem. The insects to be dealt with in relation to H.G. Well’s story are those of new origin, undiscovered before in any biological system.

Most famous of the predicted insects is the Morgan’s Sphinx moth (Xanthopan morgani praedicta). This subspecies of Xanthopan morgani was predicted a full 40 years prior to its description by science by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan in 1903. What makes this moth famous is two phase: 1) The predictor was Charles Darwin and 2) The prediction occurred by evaluating an orchid, the Star Orchid or Christmas Orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) of Madagascar.

Within Charles Darwin’s On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, published in 1862 his prediction is stated as so:

"…surprising that any insect should be able to reach the nectar…but in Madagascar there must be moths with the proboscis capable of extension to a length of between ten and eleven inches…The pollinia would not be withdrawn until some huge moth, with a wonderfully long proboscis, tried to drain the last drop. If such great moths were to become extinct in Madagascar, assuredly the Angraecum would become extinct…"

Thus, for the orchid to exist with a rostrellum of close to eleven inches in depth, then a moth with a proboscis of similar length is required for fertilization of the orchids. So, if the orchid exists, then the moth to fertilize the orchid exists. In 1991 Gene Kritsky (entomologist) made another prediction regarding another orchid (Angraecum longicalcar) with a rostrellum approximately sixteen inches in depth, if that orchid still lives then yet another moth of unknown identity, with an even longer proboscis than Xanthopan morgani praedicta, must surely exist.

Then one can take the statement of Dr. Robin Craw of the Otago Museum in New Zealand:

His estimates in 1997 were that the native cooper butterflies might amount to ten distinct species, boulder butterflies to ten new species and mountain butterflies to six new species. Neville Winchester of the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) has stated that of 15,000 species of insects collected in the Carmanah Valley of Vancouver Island, at least 300 are unknown to science.

Insects abide on the Earth to extreme diversities in anatomical, physiological and behavioral characteristics. To imagine that life unrecognized by science abounds in large numbers (as shown by recent discoveries like Neville Winchester’s research) is a revelation that undiscovered life forms are around to be found. They will not come to us, we must go and seek them out. And that is, perhaps, one of the key romantic keystones of cryptozoology, the search for new life wherever it may take us.

Using H.G. Well’s story as a figurative tool, the moth can be viewed as a subliminal image born of destitution over the failure of a life. Failure by denouncing the practices and privacy of another. Failure by eradicating the soul of a colleague. By destroying, unintentionally, the life of another the moth can represent the glimpse of a new hope that glitters in the wind just out of reach, the pinnacle of a career.

There are many ways to look at H.G. Well’s "A Moth (Genus Unknown)", each has its own merit. For a spiritual person, perhaps the moth is the representation of Pawkin’s soul, come back to torment his accuser in life, which is the view H.G. Well’s took on writing the tale. It is an irony, for the spirit of Hapley’s antagonist is metamorphosized after death into the embodiment of Hapley’s life’s work. For the scientist, perhaps the moth is the truth, whatever that may be, sought and found. For the every day person, perhaps the moth is the failure of life represented by a delusional man and a moth mirage.

The extraction of the tale must be left to the individual reader. For, like other works of fiction, the tale woven is done to trigger emotion. The writer may envision a reason for a certain character or occurrence, but the reader is always welcome to interpret them how they wish. After all it’s only a story, isn’t it?