I am insectivorous, of course, as are most grenouilles (we will overlook mon cousin de Afrique, which is the size of a small dog and consumes birds and mammals that come too close). Voila, here is a fat morsel, a creature that would seem a delicacy, a dream gastronomique, plump, succulent, but non, it is not so. This is a blister beetle, and it is unwise even to touch much less eat. The name; it is well to pay attention to the name.
Etienne and oldest son had a brief encounter with this animaux on a concrete trail at Cedar Rock Park in Burlington, NC. Knowing this creature well already, by reputation, they marveled at it's strange beauty and its fearless manner, but oldest son removed it from the path, and harm's way, with a leaf. No touching.It was a beautiful autumn day, and the hiking was glorious, but Etienne will, perhaps, write about it.
Au revoir,
Grenouille
7 comments:
He looks likes as if he would pack quick a crunch.
It was so good of your son to move him to safer ground.
DCup - I hate to even imagine the sound of this critter being stepped on... That's one of the reasons why we move insects off paths and roads - kind-of like other people do with turtles (so do we).
Occassionally, students in my class remove bug that way from the classroom.
how nice of him to move the bug out of harm's way :)
MathMan and Liberality - Oldest son has been in love with little creatures (especially ones with exoskeletons) since he was less than two and had a tiny fish net which he used to catch and gently release skippers (winged things between moths and butterflies). Now he's twenty. He picks up spiders (knowing which are which). He removes all the insects that get in our house; we have a paper cup and piece of paper that have been used for this so long that they remind me a bit of the Sorting Hat in the Potter books. My maternal grandfather was also just like this - very gentle and fascinated with insects and spiders. If you visit Hamjamser you see the influence of insects on his artwork.
So we're used to stopping during walks and hikes while he moves someone or other - woolly bears, slugs, snails, millipedes, etc.
creepy.....but I detest creepy crawlies that are also large....although I don't kill them...so nice you and your son don't either...
his cousins are in the subways of ny
i am glad they moved him
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