Positively Tuesday: POSITIVELY BUGGY

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

POSITIVELY BUGGY

by Mauverneen

'Show me some tobacco'

a: an insect or other creeping or crawling invertebrate (as a spider or centipede)
b: any of several insects (as the bedbug or cockroach) commonly considered obnoxious

My kitchen sink is being invaded by large black ants. I know – the sink? But, yes, that’s where they seem to want to hang out, in spite of the fact that I have several strategically placed ant traps. I’m used to ants getting into the hummingbird feeders – but the kitchen sink? I thought they didn’t like water!

“Arrrgghh!” I cry and turn on the water, doing my best to wash them down the drain. It feels cruel. I hate doing it.

So, there was another one of those little buggers in there yesterday morning and I’d had it! I turned on the water, and he just wouldn’t go down. I splashed him and he still hung on. I filled the strainer basket and he just climbed higher. I gave up. I turned off the water and let him climb on a napkin and I took him outside.

“Don’t come back” I said as he disappeared into the grass. “You might not be so lucky next time!"

It’s summertime. Yay! But with summer comes bugs. Sometimes we get the bad along with the good.

We may detest spiders, but they spin works of art

I sit and wait with my camera for the birds to come along, or the sunset to be spectacular, and sitting patiently, I am often caught off guard by what else is out there. Occasionally I will spot a really pretty bug.

Kind of pretty - for a bug. What a color!

Although I could probably do without the mosquitoes, wasps, and big black ants in my sink, I have to say that there are some nice looking bugs out there. Some are shiny, some are iridescent, and some are just plain interesting. So maybe they aren’t the most attractive things on the planet, but even those pesky ants are pretty amazing.

Hard to spot on a celery stalk - but what beautiful colors!

The praying mantis is a pretty cool bug. Very weird looking – like an alien from outer space. Fun to watch too. They move so very, very slowly, until they go to grab that other bug they’ve been eyeing. And then it’s swoosh! Gone in a flash. Dinner time. Maybe I should put one in my sink.

Praying for dinner to come along

Bugs are actually good for some things. Like mosquitoes – great Bat food. And some bugs don’t seem to bother anybody. Ladybugs, for instance. Nobody objects to ladybugs. Or the dragonfly. But spot a spider or a housefly and some people go berserk.