while field herping.....

[ThamnophisManiac]

well first and foremost, i took a slate shingle out to a field and propped it up on a small rock. think snakes might sunbathe on it??? anyways...to the point. on the way back to my house from the field, i noticed 2 beetles. they were on a flower mating and i IDed them as japanes beetles. i plucked the flower and took it back to my garage where i could observe them more. the male was just kinda strattling the female and she would just walk around the flower carrying him. eventually she tensed up, and lifter herslef high up with her legs. she then kept walking but left about a 3mm long trail of what i belive to be eggs. i hope that i can keep them in a jar maybe and watch them grow into adult japanese beetles. also, a moment of silence for the male who died soonly after the eggs were laid....................... .....anyways it was just kinda kewl observing them. PS-i tihnk that bugs are attracted to me while there mating. like once, when i was younger, i saw 2 dragonflies mating, actually 4 different pairs of dragon flies mating, all in the matter of a day. lol

[enigma200316]

Beetle Porn....man thats sick......hahahahaha!!!!!!!

[ThamnophisManiac]

eh errrr....im not sick...er...eh....scientific observation??? lolz

[Stefan-A]

He's just teasing.

I agree, it's just a scientific observation. I have a few pictures of insect porn myself.

[ThamnophisManiac]

hahaha lolz

[stonyloam]

Hay T.M.: Frade that won’t work with the beetles. The Japanese beetle lays its eggs in ground and they turn into grubs, so they won’t survive in the jar. I do have a couple of cool little projects you could try. Stay tuned…..

[stonyloam]

OK am back: Two really cool projects, especially for a kid (like me).

Keep an ant lion for a pet: These are really slick little animals and make pretty good pets. Order Myrmeleontidae.they are the larva of a crainfly (I think). They are sometimes called doodlebugs. Anyway they can be found in open sandy areas, just look for a small round cone shaped pit (3/4 to 1 inch across) in the ground, and very carefully dig up the small (very ugly) animal at the bottom. Take it home and transfer it to a small bowl (a margarine tub works fine) of fine sand. Just drop it on top and watch it burrow. To feed it just drop in an ant. There is info on the internet.

Make a house for solitary bees and wasps: Pretty easy, just take a hunk of (not pressure treated) wood like the end of a 2x4 and drill a bunch of holes in it. Drill lots of different size holes from 1/16 to about 3/8 inch. Set it outside in a sheltered place and watch it. Lots of cool little bees and wasps will come looking for a home. Some of the wasps are predatory and will bring in spiders to feed the young, watched a little black wasp bring a bunch of spiders into a hole in a folding chair one afternoon. Always exactly the same kind of little yellow spider. Anyway something to do on a lazy summer day, think I’ll go down and drill some holes.

[Lee]

Seems like your having fun ! Ant lions are fun little insects. I had one for awhile in a jar the size of a film canister, feeding it ants now and again it did very well.. I've never had solitary wasps but I've kept a colony of paper wasps, while they scare me in the fact I don't want to get stung (I never have been stung) they are pretty interesting little creatures to watch. Good luck!

[adamanteus]

Next time I see one, I'm going to sniff it! I've never noticed it before......something to look forward to!

[stonyloam]

James: I think you have to squeeze it just a tiny bit (not enough to hurt it) to get the desired results. Ummmmmm! I'm not sure I'd tell a lot of people you are going around sniffing bugs, they may think that is kind of strange, even in the UK.