 |
| Female Hercules Beetle |
Well, why not? If bird-watching is a thing, then insect-spotting could be a similar sport. One could argue that it's too easy, because there are so many around, but in this way the hobby can be quickly rewarding. Insects (and their relatives the arachnids) are always zig-zagging around, eating each other, or making crazy homes. The challenge is to catch them as they fly by, and see how close you can get before you get the shivers (or stung). In my region there are a lot of shallow pools and delicious leaves and trees to encourage life, so I've seen some that are new to me. However, I'm not the first to catch the bug (sorry, but it's an irresistable pun); the
Amateur Entomologists' Society has meeting since 1935. I think this pastime will become useful as bee populations
continue to decline, diseases and their transmission
evolve, and warm winters and wet summers make for
hardier mosquitoes. Here are just a few of my neighbors:
 |
| Tiny, shiny beetle, about 1/4" |
 |
| The same hercules beetle. |
 |
| The spider caught an orange wasp (see above), but wrapped it up so fast, I could only catch it eating. |
