Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Happy Bugs



Back at the end of summer, freshly back from exotic lands where giant bugs typically hang out, I acquired my own exotic little insects.

Stick bugs. Five of them. There was a hatching at Pol's house you see.

They were just tiny back then, so this blog post is mostly for Pol's benefit. See how nicely your bugs are growing up, my friend?

Three of them (Sticky,Twiggy, and Lucy) are presently living at the preschool (sort of an insect boot camp where survival skills are quickly learned). They are handled quite a lot by my pack of four-year-olds who love the way Lucy and her sisters can walk up shirts.

I am pleased to see it is the girls who have taken the biggest interest in bug-handling. Girls after my own heart. :)

My other two stick-bugs, Rosy and Princess (I had help naming them), live at home in relative comfort and ease, thanking their lucky bug stars that they weren't the ones going on extended vacation with preschoolers.

11 comments:

Tim Rice said...

Walking Sticks are great creatures. I've seen them only a few times in the wild. They fascinate me when I see them.

Anonymous said...

ooh fun, I'd love to see the girls playing with them. Actually, I miss all those kids a bit.. having a lot of fun here though ;)

BostonPobble said...

That's SO COOL! How do you tell them apart?

Valkyrie said...

I like potato bugs. I think they're cute.

Spiders...they are kind of creepy but I don't like it when they are smushed either. Ok, some of them are beautiful.

Spider Girl said...

Melanie: I'm glad, but we miss you. :)

Bostonpobble: Well, some are brown and some are more green, but if a child asks I just make an educated guess. I fear poor Sticky is mistaken for Twiggy quite often, poor girl.

r: Many spiders ARE beautiful, but the ugly ones make up for it with sparkling personalities. Er, well, I like to think so anyway.

C said...

Oooh! Neat! I can't wait to show Mollusc tomorrow. (My 10 yo) We saw 2 walking sticks mating last summer. I got some nice pics of them before their party was interrupted by them getting blown of the leaf by a gust of wind.

JM said...

I think exposing children to insects is a good idea. Nowadays you've got those pre-schoolers that squeal at the site of any insect and then the child squashes the bug for no apparent reason other than--they fear it.

nicki said...

EEEEEEEEEEEP!!! i'm scared of bugs...i saw a stick bug once when i was camping...and i ran...faster than my legs had ever let me run before..hahahha..i do agree its good tho that you're exposing the kiddies to them..so they won't have an irrational fear like me..mine all stems back to when i was 5...riding my green machine...getting stuck at the bottom of our steep drive-way..with a praying mantis...eeeeeeep...it still creeps me out....(sorry for the long-ish comment.)

Mz.Elle said...

LOL those poor pre school livin' bugs;p
Waaaaaay cooler than the usual guinea pigs.
Although I do love me some pigs.
I love Stick Bugs too,they are the neatest creatures!

Meow (aka Connie) said...

I just love those stick insects ... they are so cool. Take care, Meow

Pol* said...

I am so happy they are thriving for you. I just took some of Steve's out for a romp around on my clothes last night too. They are getting large! AND isn't it strange that though they are all cloned sisters, on the same diet, in the same environment they can grow to be different colours!?