First, I would like to say there have been no bugs in the house. A mosquito.... an itty spider, but no big bugs. ~knock on wood~
All these creepy crawlies have been found outside, mostly by Miss 6. Mama found the stick bug looking thing..... but the rest were all her. And yes, we have seen a cockroach. I am not a fan of those. I do quite well with lizards and snakes and the bugs photographed here, but throw a cockroach my way and I will scream and jump up on a chair. Embarrassing, I know, but it's the truth. I mean, have any of you ever seen a cockroach. They are big nasty bugs..... and fortunately ~knock on wood again~ the only ones I've seen have been outside. And I've (rather nicely) asked them all to please stay there. I do hope they listen.
So on to some fun creepy crawlies.
I tried to take the pictures to show the size..... but they don't do any justice!
First was what our neighbor called "a cricket". Now I've seen crickets before and they are cute little musical bugs. When we first saw this monster Miss 6 and I both thought it was plastic. But it was real. Dead. But real. It was at least an inch in diameter and 3-4 inches long. Can you imagine the music this things makes?!?! When my neighbor told me it was a cricket I quickly realized that Louisiana crickets could easily eat Wisconsin crickets for lunch. After some research we found that it is actually a very big Black Grasshopper.
Next was this beetle...... who had a hard time getting around on the slippery pavement. Miss 6 decide he had "mad dancing moves" and watched him for quite awhile. It looks like a Rhinoceros Beetle to us. He was about 3 inches long. Very cool!
And here is some sort of a stick bug. This is a Two Striped Walking Stick. I almost stepped on it getting in the car to head to the Farmer's Market. Luckily I spotted him just in time and had the eldest take him to the backyard. At the Farmer's Market we bought a cocoon full of Praying Mantis eggs that should hatch in the next few weeks. We plan to release them into the yard so they can feast on the biting bugs out there. We'll be sure to share pictures when they arrive!
Lastly is only a partial photo of a dragonfly...... because it is being eaten by a lizard! Miss 6 loved this and thought it was so very cool that a lizard (anole) could catch it. We've seen tons of these and caught several. Miss 6 caught one by it's tail and was soon left with a tail wriggling in her hand with no lizard attached. She then proceeded to burst into tears because she thought she had hurt him. The eldest quickly explained how lizards tails break off when they get caught so they can escape, and assured her it would grow back!
Hope you enjoyed :)
