A Beetle in The Hand...

A Beetle in The Hand...

Note: Extreme animal people who get mad when someone touches an insect might get offended by this post. If you are one of them, proceed with caution. Also, please do not comment on how holding the bugs is hurting the insects and scaring them because it isn't. All beetles and butterflies were perfectly at ease and not showing any signs of struggle.  

This morning, I had just refilled the finch socks and was trying to avoid accidentally hitting the flegdling Lesser Goldfinches flying right next to my head jostling for the seed. I don't even know why they like that seed. It's almost six months old--all dried out and old.  Fledglings. They have bad taste.

Suddenly, my dad called me over to look at a dead Green June Beetle.  Naturally, I wasn't too excited since he said it was dead, but still, a Green June Beetle is a Green June Beetle is a Green June Beetle. It was on a rose, too. HAHA Get it (OK, that was a really bad one. Sorry.)??

It must have been frozen or something because it didn't move after I picked it up for a good five minutes, even though Southern California nights are like 70 degrees at lowest.

After a while, it started to uncurl its feet and crawl over over my brother's hand like it owned the hand. Then it must have farted, because this absolutely DISGUSTING smell started to leak from the beetle's butt. It smelled like gasoline mixed with baby vomit and cow dung.

Close-up of the beetle midsection. Awesome-looking beetle! 

Front view. This guy looks like a gaudy caravan for the Beetle Circus. 

Green June Beetles aren't the only june beetles to get up close and personal. This Ten-lined June Beetle landed on my brother's pants to rest during a camping trip. They don't smell as bad as the green guys. Pictures of this guy and the butterflies are from my brother.  

A better back view of the brilliant beetle. 

Butterflies are easy to get on the hand too. All it takes is a little sweat and they'll readily sit on your hand to drink that stuff (yeah, that's kind of disgusting). We've gotten butterflies from skippers to ladies to fritillaries to sit on our hands. 

No butterflies were harmed in this process-- hold your sweaty fingering out in an offer to the front of a landed butterfly and most of the time, it'll step right on! 

-chiccadee