Tuesday 6 November 2007

Bugs Bugs Bugs

These are some of the things we have caught in our backyard. The bugs we catch are kept in transparent lunch boxes which are not air tight. This makes it easy for Micah to carry the bugs around and view them.

Micah's all time favourite is the ladybird/ladybug. We usually keep them for not more than 30 hours as we can't get any aphids to feed them. Only once he had insisted on keeping a lady bug longer than 48hours and the poor thing died of starvation.

Of course we still keep a ladybug grub (yellow and hairy) or two whenever it's in season and we are all thrilled to release new ladybugs into the backyard when they have come out of their crystallizes.

Sometimes, when we can't find any ladybug, he will settle for small grasshoppers. The most we had was three in a container and we fed them quite well for a few days. Then I persuaded him to let them go.

Once grandma caught a big katydid which was a real rare treat. You can really explain camouflage. But it did not want to feed on any leaf so we had to let it go after 36hours. It was still alive!!


Other creatures Micah takes captive for pleasures are spiders and millipedes.

Guess the old rhyme of "What are Little Boys Made of" is true in this aspect, "frogs and snails and puppy dog tails", and bugs too!!

7 comments:

Ann said...

The joys of staying in a house I reckon....where do you get all these marvellous bugs to amuse your son with?

JLow said...

Haha, Ann beat me to it!

I grew up in a house, but now dwell in a condo. Thus our little Caitlin knows little of having a garden. However, her grandparents (my inlaws, who look after her during the day) live in a link house with something of a garden at the front.

Also, as much as I can, after work I'd bring her walking in the TTDI park, where there is a lake with turtles to feed. She's learned that one does not need to throw out expired bread!

She does however get freaked out at bugs, especially those pesky 4-winged flies that come out after it's rained. She has however taken a liking to dogs somewhat- she is starting to show understanding that dogs too can have different personalities, and will only go near those that Daddee says is ok (my folks and brothers collectively have a few dogs of various sizes and temperament)

Moomykin said...

When we renovated our house, my mum-in-law claimed the back lane as our backyard. ;) So we find bugs in all the bushes and overgrowths from our neighbours' backyards.

At first I was not very pleased for security and privacy reasons, but in their last house she did the same and now I realise it's actually OK. Hardly anyone comes by the back lane except a few neighbours who come by sking for cilipadi or pandan leaves.

Always good to get kids out into nature. They learn to see and value our environment.

Ann said...

Heh Jlow...meet you at the TTDI park one day then...when my son is big enough to go out in his stroller!

Else maybe we can go over to Kathie's place and admire her bugs instead!

Moomykin said...

All are welcome to visit our backlane. ;)

We have not been to the TTDI park, though I have seen many great phtos from some friends. I'm not sure where is it exactly and we let Mike sleep in on Saturdays. Maybe if we plan a playdate for the kids I'll get him to take us.

JLow said...

The TTDI park is close to the old IBM building- now known as the VADS building.

Basically, if you turn down at Pizza Hut towards this building, you'd eventually hit what looks like a dead end (I say looks like 'cos it's actually not, but you can tell it's actually a smaller non-main road).

At this "dead end", turn left. You know you are on the correct road when there are tall shrubs on your right, and the drive on the road is severely interrupted by annoyingly too many speed bumps.

The park is about 500m of this journey, on the right side.

Is this the birth of some kinda club??

Moomykin said...

Sheesh. TTDI is so not my territory. I know you can see pizza hut from the main road, but after that I can't imagine any of the landmarks.

How about we meet at Science Centre-laa?