BAB

by Cynthia MacKinnon-Morris

Scott recently commented that he would not consider moving further south in the United States because of the bugs--apparently they grow to mammoth proportions the further south one goes. Well, I have news for dear Scott. The bugs in Indiana are mammoth! I've never seen the like, except on the Discovery Channel. I am so amazed by their sizes that I have begun to collect them--thanks to my lovely assistant Mavis.

We taught Mavis a game when she first arrived: PawBall. We throw a bouncy ball and she leaps into the air and catches it in her paws. Now, each and every evening, Mavis plays PawBall with Scott and I. Being a very bright young creature, Mavis has transfered her play skills into practical use and Mommy gets specimens for her collection!

Here are some photos I have taken; unfortunately, I have not mastered close-up photos with our digital camera so some lack focus...and being bugs, sometimes they won't sit still long enough for me to re-take their pictures!
This Praying Mantis had been living in our rose bushes outside this window and it was interesting watching it grow from big to HUGE! I thought it was large to begin with and never imagined that it would get to this size. I made sure that Koda (who is a very large tabby) was at the window so we would have a size comparison. It really is as long as Koda's head.

Mavis also caught a Praying Mantis this summer for me. I set it on the driveway, left Koda in charge of the bug and went for my camera. By the time I came back, Koda had disappeared and so had the deceased Praying Mantis. Who knows?

I found this beetle in our winter supply of firewood and called Scott to come see! He obliged my need for a hand-model and scooped up the bug. Scott did research the type but I call it the BFB--plain, simple, to the point. Hey, a beetle is a beetle!

Once the picture-taking session was over, Scott took the insect back to the wood pile so it could continue with its business. However, it took a shine to him and would not let go! Its little 'hands' just would not come loose even when Scott gave his hands a shake--I am not sure how it ever came free but it still resides in the woodpile!


I was out watering the garden one day when I discovered this grasshopper in our not-flowering weeping cherry (long and sad story). Again, I recruited Scott's hand to show the size comparison.

I was absolutely amazed by this thing! Earlier in the month, I found a grasshopper nursery in the planter of carnations. These grasshoppers were the size of the ones we get in B.C. --not newsworthy at all. However, I didn't realize at the time that they were indeed babies!


The next couple of insects are Mavis' finds.
First another grasshopper and a nice big one too. When I am out weeding the berm, I have come across a few of these grasshoppers enjoying the garden--dunno if they like the shade, the rocks or the vegetation. They are in constant peril from the cats though. They are so large that when they land on the driveway or on the patio, it catches the attention of whoever is within range. I am constantly shooing grasshoppers away! Of course, I did not see this one in time--but Mavis did!



Mavis caught a couple of these huge green grasshoppers. I had never seen one like this so I did some Google research. First look-alike was a potato hopper--then I read on to note that potato hoppers average 1cm in length. I tried and tried again to no avail. Finally, in desperation, I typed in "green bugs" in Google's image search and voila! there it was.

Up close, this insect looks a lot like a mass of leaves all tightly layered on one another.

My final insect of this post. The cicada. It isn't very nice looking--in fact resembles a big nasty brownish fly that we used to find in cow pies during the summer! However, it is much bigger as you can see.

Apparently, every 13 or 17 years is a cicada year. Periodical cicada populations are synchronized so that most of the group matures at the same time! It was supposed to be a cicada year in 2004 but none (or few) appeared. They were definitely present this year, in great numbers. The noise that one cicada makes is extremely loud. I assumed from the volume, that each tree was inundated with cicadas--but no, all that noise was from a lone insect. Their "song" or acoustic signals are made by tymbals in the abdomen--only males make this noise. I found it amazing that these insects have such long life cycles. They actually spend their 13 or 17 years underground before emerging as an adult! Some people refer to them as 13-year or 17-year locusts but actually they are not true locusts (which belong to the grasshopper family).

One of the nicest aspects of our berm is that the flowers and shrubs attract many insects. We sit out on the patio and watch bees go about their business, colourful pastel moths flit to and fro and large beautiful butterflies exploring the wonders of our garden. We are so pleased to be able to provide a home or at least a resting place, for so many insects.