Here's one scrambling over a painting pretending to be part of it
Over the 3 years I was there, we also raised Oleander and Privet hawk moths, and the huge Atlas moths.
Here's a privet hawk moth caterpillar, I took the picture outside in the yard, the light is from the sun and the background was the yard gate.
This was a Grass Eggar I found last summer munching a grass leaf in an abandoned care tire. He came home with me.
I also had a pair of praying mantis'es that someone brought back from South France for me. They were the common green ones. When they died, they turned into illustration projects, as every first year had to illustrate an insect. Here's my friend James, who chose to paint one of those praying mantis'es:
One easter, I was in a nature reserve at home, where we excavated a breeding wall for the European kingfisher. We found mole crickets that were in the ground, and I smuggled a couple to Uni, they had a photoshoot and lived in the UK till I went back home 3 months later where I put them back in that same reserve.
I also did a work placement in a small zoo, and I was in love with their rose chafers so they gave me a few larvae to take home and raise. I'd love to raise a nice big staghorn beetle though.
And 6 months ago, when I came to the US, I was so intrigued by the cicada noises! We don't have them in my country at all. I searched and searched, and only found a shed skin, but they were buzzing everywhere. One morning though, the little girl of the family I stayed with called me and said she found one. She did indeed! It had a crippled wing so it couldn't fly, and the cicada mystery was solved:
Unfortunately, 4 years ago, while I was on that zoo placement, I went out one afternoon with my macro lens and came upon a hornet nest. That summer, I had photographed hornets before, went very close, and got pretty pictures. This time...I wasn't even close, and what I think is that one got tangled in my hair and alarmed the others. Very quickly I had them buzzing around my head, and felt the first sting. As there was a party that evening at the zoo director's house, with which I was staying at the time, I thought "oh dear, you're going to look stupid with a sting on your head" Then came more and more stings, and I cowered on the ground with my hands in front of the face, and they flew off eventually. I tried to get on the bike to ride back to the zoo director's house (I was in a nature reserve close by) but couldn't remember the way, then I could only see green and black... and finally wanted to do nothing other than lie on the ground and not move at all. Luckily, a friend who was invited to the party came riding past on his bike and found me, if not, I don't know what would have happened. I had an anaphylactic shock and spent the night in the hospital, with the worst headache in my life. Apparently, I had nine stings right in the head. And since then, I'm very allergic to all bee and wasp stings... but never got stung since. So much for trying to get close to a hornet nest!
Aahh...insects <3
Now, tell me your crawly stories!
But he was really fun. He loved to climb around on our hands. I couldn't think of a good name for him so I just called him Mantis, but here's a picture of him!
