oh the irony -- was reading this while listening to the death hum of the "mosquito control" dude spraying my neighbor's yard, which always infuriates me. Plus, it's hopeless!
Irony for sure. Kind of like trying to fence out air. Researching this piece, I couldn't help noticing the frequency with which search engine results used the word "pest" when what I'd typed in was "insect." I hope we can change the narrative somehow. That feels a little hopeless too, sometimes.
A hard sell for sure, June, and we have big guns like BASF, Bayer, and Corteva making sure we stay committed to the products they provide. Glad to know who, on the other side of the Atlantic, is singing similar songs to mine!
Thanks, Susan. (And, for reminding me that Segway-the-vehicle isn't spelled like the dictionary term, segue!) We actually had two kids come calling, from two companies, on two different days. When the second one showed up it was nearly dark, and Jim answered. That conversation was much shorter!
Amazing! I always sensed the stealth entomologist in you. (Well, I guess if I saw it, it wasn’t so stealthy was it ?) Thanks for the free class in Bugs 101! Next, maybe a course on my own object of fascination: Bats, natures own mosquito control.
Glad you enjoyed it, Rob. Be sure to complete the end-of-term survey so I can keep my highly paid job as a bug teacher. 😅 And, thanks for the idea of a piece on bats. Have to agree that they're in the top 5 for coolest mammals ever!
Jul 26, 2023·edited Jul 26, 2023Liked by Elizabeth Beggins
I love my biology class that I received today... You're a great teacher... I love insects also... But I was introduced to one insect about 5 years ago that I had never seen or heard of and must admit was not fond of... A little dampness had occurred in my crawl space..under my house..due to some high rains ... That's been corrected!!! However, when I went under the house to check I was immediately invaded and attack by the ugliest of creatures I had ever seen..... The humpback cricket.... I had never seen or heard of such an insect and probably bumped my head 5 or 6 times getting out of the crawl space door.... It was explained to me that dampness attracts and that they had remedy and I won't talk about the remedy because that violates the law of loving insects... And at that moment I was very unloving and said okay to the treatment... I like insects for the most part... But I just don't find it in my heart to develop a love relationship with a humpback cricket...YUCK!@!
Thanks, Barry! I always called them camel crickets, and I presume they're one and the same. Another lasting, less pleasant than the luna moth memory from Girl Scout Camp is of finding those same crickets pretty much covering the inside walls of the permanent, platformed tents there. You can imagine the shrieking from a troop of young girls. What can we do? Some things are just a little harder to love. 😬
I'm with you, Elizabeth. With our world spinning into difficult times, we must do everything we can to help insects, vertebrates and the plant world.
I've turned a patch of lawn into a 'perennial meadow' after having great success with a wheelbarrow planted out with self-seeding meadow flowers. In summer it's wonderful to see moths, butterflies, and many others, but most importantly bees. I'm trying to plant as many bee-friendly plants in the garden as well.
The bees are crucial for me - we rely on them so much for our food supply so anything at all we can do to help... it's mutual survival!
Re the red ladybirds - where we live, they're vital in the control of unhelpful bugs in the orchard and veggie garden. We have always been told that if one counts the number of dots on the insect, then that is how many years you will have of good fortune. (I often wonder if that's cumulative...)
Mutual survival! I think that's the most succinct way to express what it is we are dealing with, Prue. It's disheartening to consider that so many of us humans aren't making that connection, but it seems, from reactions to this piece, that there are lots of us trying to help swing the ship.
Interesting, your ladybird lore. Here, the spots were said to relate to how many children we'd have rather than years of good fortune. I mean, sure, there's a crossover there, but I like your version better! :)
Elizabeth, everything about this post was fascinating! I’ve always loved creepy crawlies - with some exceptions (I’m not fond of earwigs or midges...). I find wasps really interesting, actually - not just for their own sake but for people’s attitude towards them. 🐝
I, too, have my less-than-favorites. Ticks are at the top of the list right now, having become increasingly abundant and impactful in recent history. I could do without cockroaches, despite knowing that they have ancient connections and are considered to be among the smartest insects. As for your wasp (and bee, I presume) fondness, you might enjoy knowing about the Bee Inventory Monitoring Lab, run by a friend here in the US, and his colleagues. He is my go-to for all things bee.
Wow, thanks for those links, Elizabeth! I'm not on Insta, but the Flickr site is amazing, thank you!
I've only ever met a tick once - it was on my husband's leg, and I didn't believe him when he said it was a tick. Turned out he was right!
Cockroaches over here are uncommon and tiny - and I've only ever seen any once, in an acquaintance's room in a grubby London houseshare. Once when I still lived at home, though, something caught my eye as it raced across the carpet - a huge beetle around two inches long. We caught it under a pint glass and identified it as an enormous cockroach, which we concluded must have hitched a lift in Dad's suitcase on his way back from an overseas work trip. I wish I could remember where he'd been to have picked up such a nasty beast...! 🫣
oh the irony -- was reading this while listening to the death hum of the "mosquito control" dude spraying my neighbor's yard, which always infuriates me. Plus, it's hopeless!
Irony for sure. Kind of like trying to fence out air. Researching this piece, I couldn't help noticing the frequency with which search engine results used the word "pest" when what I'd typed in was "insect." I hope we can change the narrative somehow. That feels a little hopeless too, sometimes.
Thanks for this. I've been proselytising for bugs for a while here in the UK, but it's a hard sell sometimes.
A hard sell for sure, June, and we have big guns like BASF, Bayer, and Corteva making sure we stay committed to the products they provide. Glad to know who, on the other side of the Atlantic, is singing similar songs to mine!
❤️ your writing as usual. BTW I told the Segway door knocker that we had a sustainable garden & loved insects too!
Thanks, Susan. (And, for reminding me that Segway-the-vehicle isn't spelled like the dictionary term, segue!) We actually had two kids come calling, from two companies, on two different days. When the second one showed up it was nearly dark, and Jim answered. That conversation was much shorter!
Amazing! I always sensed the stealth entomologist in you. (Well, I guess if I saw it, it wasn’t so stealthy was it ?) Thanks for the free class in Bugs 101! Next, maybe a course on my own object of fascination: Bats, natures own mosquito control.
Glad you enjoyed it, Rob. Be sure to complete the end-of-term survey so I can keep my highly paid job as a bug teacher. 😅 And, thanks for the idea of a piece on bats. Have to agree that they're in the top 5 for coolest mammals ever!
I love my biology class that I received today... You're a great teacher... I love insects also... But I was introduced to one insect about 5 years ago that I had never seen or heard of and must admit was not fond of... A little dampness had occurred in my crawl space..under my house..due to some high rains ... That's been corrected!!! However, when I went under the house to check I was immediately invaded and attack by the ugliest of creatures I had ever seen..... The humpback cricket.... I had never seen or heard of such an insect and probably bumped my head 5 or 6 times getting out of the crawl space door.... It was explained to me that dampness attracts and that they had remedy and I won't talk about the remedy because that violates the law of loving insects... And at that moment I was very unloving and said okay to the treatment... I like insects for the most part... But I just don't find it in my heart to develop a love relationship with a humpback cricket...YUCK!@!
Thanks, Barry! I always called them camel crickets, and I presume they're one and the same. Another lasting, less pleasant than the luna moth memory from Girl Scout Camp is of finding those same crickets pretty much covering the inside walls of the permanent, platformed tents there. You can imagine the shrieking from a troop of young girls. What can we do? Some things are just a little harder to love. 😬
I'm with you, Elizabeth. With our world spinning into difficult times, we must do everything we can to help insects, vertebrates and the plant world.
I've turned a patch of lawn into a 'perennial meadow' after having great success with a wheelbarrow planted out with self-seeding meadow flowers. In summer it's wonderful to see moths, butterflies, and many others, but most importantly bees. I'm trying to plant as many bee-friendly plants in the garden as well.
The bees are crucial for me - we rely on them so much for our food supply so anything at all we can do to help... it's mutual survival!
Re the red ladybirds - where we live, they're vital in the control of unhelpful bugs in the orchard and veggie garden. We have always been told that if one counts the number of dots on the insect, then that is how many years you will have of good fortune. (I often wonder if that's cumulative...)
Mutual survival! I think that's the most succinct way to express what it is we are dealing with, Prue. It's disheartening to consider that so many of us humans aren't making that connection, but it seems, from reactions to this piece, that there are lots of us trying to help swing the ship.
Interesting, your ladybird lore. Here, the spots were said to relate to how many children we'd have rather than years of good fortune. I mean, sure, there's a crossover there, but I like your version better! :)
Elizabeth, everything about this post was fascinating! I’ve always loved creepy crawlies - with some exceptions (I’m not fond of earwigs or midges...). I find wasps really interesting, actually - not just for their own sake but for people’s attitude towards them. 🐝
I, too, have my less-than-favorites. Ticks are at the top of the list right now, having become increasingly abundant and impactful in recent history. I could do without cockroaches, despite knowing that they have ancient connections and are considered to be among the smartest insects. As for your wasp (and bee, I presume) fondness, you might enjoy knowing about the Bee Inventory Monitoring Lab, run by a friend here in the US, and his colleagues. He is my go-to for all things bee.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/
And more fun, Instagram, if you're on there: https://instagram.com/usgsbiml?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Wow, thanks for those links, Elizabeth! I'm not on Insta, but the Flickr site is amazing, thank you!
I've only ever met a tick once - it was on my husband's leg, and I didn't believe him when he said it was a tick. Turned out he was right!
Cockroaches over here are uncommon and tiny - and I've only ever seen any once, in an acquaintance's room in a grubby London houseshare. Once when I still lived at home, though, something caught my eye as it raced across the carpet - a huge beetle around two inches long. We caught it under a pint glass and identified it as an enormous cockroach, which we concluded must have hitched a lift in Dad's suitcase on his way back from an overseas work trip. I wish I could remember where he'd been to have picked up such a nasty beast...! 🫣