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Spring
2002
Jean-Luc
Mosley:
Creature Collector
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Photo
by Kevin Weinstein
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A
shelf on Jean-Luc Mosley’s front porch holds his current
collection of creatures: Hisser, a three-inch long Madagascar
hissing cockroach; Slick, the neon green barking tree frog;
and Scopatwini, the coral-striped corn snake. In the back
yard, wild cardinals Cardy and Scarlet dine on the seeds
that spill from assorted bird feeders.
During
the summer, Jean-Luc’s collection outgrows the front
porch, buoyed by treasures he has found on family camping
trips to Lake Shabbona, hikes in nearby forest preserves
and explorations of his own back yard in Oak Park. Frogs
and tadpoles go into one tank; ground beetles, rove beetles
and larvae into another; and a praying mantis into yet another.
"You can’t put the praying mantis in with the
beetles," Jean-Luc notes.
He’s
also collected chrysalises of monarch butterflies and lunar
moths, identifying and releasing them after they emerge
and unfold their wings.
Whenever
he acquires a new creature, he consults his ever-expanding
book collection to identify it and learn how to care for
it. Fascinated by their activities and appearance, Jean-Luc
learns as much as he can about insects, reptiles, amphibians
and birds so he can recreate the proper habitat and offer
the correct diet.
More
than once, Jean-Luc’s teachers have invited him to
share his pets and knowledge with his elementary school
classmates. "The kids didn’t act up," he
recalls, "so I let them pet Hisser." To the delight
of Jean-Luc’s classmates, the slightly annoyed cockroach
responded with a high-pitched hiss.
Ever
the collector, Jean-Luc even found a way to bring home the
herons, bitterns, cranes and barred owls he has spotted
on various hikes — he records his sightings in a Birders
Journal. He even collects birds he’s seen only in books.
How? He draws them in his leather-bound sketch book, consulting
Lives of North American Birds (his favorite book) for accuracy.
"I draw them in their habitat," notes Jean-Luc.
Using colored pencils, he carefully depicts each bird in
an action pose and neatly labels each picture.
Make
room, Slick, Hisser and Scopatwini. Company is on the way.
Salamanders and more barking tree frogs are on order from
Jean-Luc’s favorite mail-order biological supply company.
Plus, summer’s just around the corner.
—Cindy
Mehallow
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