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

The Insect World

The Fantastic Beautiful World of Insects
Special Post

A single bee.....

....and a lot of them.

I've always been fascinated by the weirdness and awesomeness of insects. With their metallic globular eyes, paper-thin wings and swiveling antennae, they look like organisms from another planet. And what huge variety! Look on a simple daisy-bush and you will probably be able to find more than three species hidden among the blooms.


Spot the leafhopper! 

My favorite buggy buddies are the damselflies, dragonflies, ad butterflies. I remember as a young kid I would try to catch the winged jewels with nets and bottles. It's funny that now, I still try and capture them...with a camera. 

This damselfly looks simple at first glance... a closer look and it appears like an elaborately crafted robot with its gleaming gray and black body. Damselflies live only long enough for a lucky few to reproduce, then die like a withered flower. 

Another type of damselfly has fragile crystal wings bordered with thin fire-filled glass panes.

A tiny skipper butterfly perches delicately on the flimsy perch, stretching its knobbed wires forward. Each of those wings is coated with a million tiny scales that come off like powder if disturbed.

A Gray Hairstreak butterfly, the size of a penny, shows intricate, tiny details on the sides of its wings.Many scientists believe the tails on the ends of the wings are used to foil predators who believe the tails are antennae connected to the head. 

What is your favorite type of insect?





Happy Easter,
-chiccadee

Magic of the Monarchs

Magic of the Monarchs



Every winter, millions of monarchs are on the move. The majority of them overwinter in a small, local grove of trees in Mexico. Where do the rest go?

The other monarchs end up in a few small, scattered groves around Central California. The groves all are well sheltered from wind and gusts by a large expanse of tall trees and natural geographical blockades.

The most famous monarch grove, at Pismo Beach, holds tens of thousands of monarchs a year!. Sadly, the number has been declining over the last couple of decades. 

This winter, I visited three monarch groves, including the Pismo Beach one. It's a magical experience. At first glance, the monarch grove is just a couple of old trees with thick clusters of leaves. A closer look, and every leaf becomes a beautiful butterfly, perfectly aligned against a hundred others. 

Yes, those are all monarch butterflies!! Pismo Beach grove.

 The sheer amount of monarch butterflies is overwhelming. 

Monarch butterfly warming its wings on a sunny day. 

 A smaller grove in central CA lets you get up close and personal with the butterflies.

More clusters of monarch butterflies. 

Next winter, visit the monarch groves more yourself for a breathtaking experience! 

Sadly, these majestic winged beauties have been declining significantly in the last couple of decades. Here's how you can help:

>Plant a milkweed garden. Milkweed is the "caterpillar plant" of the monarchs and is a key component of their survival. Keep it pesticide and herbicide free! 

>Raise awareness of the monarchs and the monarch groves.

-chiccadee