The bees are busy buzzing this morning out in my garden. Which has reminded me of several creepy crawly bug stories. Insects, bugs, butterflies and bees have held my fascination since I was a young child. Their colors, the patterns, the variety I find inspiring. The Bumble Bee has been one of my favorites since elementary school days. When at recess and before school several of us we capture Bumble Bees with our bare hands and bring them into our class room as 'desk pets'! Pretty sure our teacher was traumatized by the buzzing and the large number of flying Bumble Bees in her classroom. I remember the day well when she must have reached her threshold, notes went home that day. "If your child continues to capture Bumble Bees your child must have a container to keep the insects secured. Thank you." You would be surprised at how many "bug cages" appeared on desks the following morning! Every one of the bug catchers had one. In hind sight, probably not what the teacher was expecting, she was most likely hoping for no more bees in her classroom.
And then years later, came the spiders. As an art teacher in a Title One school I provided "bug cages" for my students. However, the students had a fascination with spiders, all kinds but I drew the line at Black Widows or Brown Recluse as these were not allowed. The students would bring in live insects for the spiders to eat each morning. You can only imagine the squeals of delight when they were able to witness the spider capturing their next meal. Or the terrified screams of other adults when they saw the spiders in the Art Room. But oh the beautiful works of art created by the students! They studied, they observed and captured the essence of the spiders in glorious colors, surrounded by patterns, natural designs birthed from their imaginations.
However, the "world's largest" Praying Mantis just might be the best bug story ever but I will have to save that story for later as there is not enough room for the hysterical moments.
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© 2017 Carol Lane Fleming
