Beetle
Last night I was up late, with a single light on in the living room. It’s Summer now, so we had all the windows open, and even though there are screens a good number of bugs find their way into the house. At one point I noticed this small beetle (about 5mm long) trundling across the carpet. When I got down close and took some pictures, I noticed a small gnatlike bug walking across the carpet. Suddenly I became aware of tiny movements all around me: in the square meter of carpet around this beetle, there were perhaps two dozen gnats, beetles, and assorted other bugs. Yikes!
Then something plopped on my head. It bounced immediately to the carpet: another tiny beetle! What on Earth…?
I looked up. I was directly under the only light still burning in the house, and it was aswarm with tiny flying bugs. Every once in a while one would hit the glass cover with a solid tik sound and fall, stunned, to the carpet below.
The other day tceisele mentioned that he planned to do a “square foot” project, and count all the bugs he can find in a square foot of his yard. I think this is a fascinating project idea. Is it cheating if I bait them like this?
JFargo said,
June 24, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
I thought you were going to say your house was under attack! I think I would have turned off the light, opened a door, and turned on a light outside. Of course, with my luck that would let out the little guys, and the bigger ones that aren’t attracted to the light would come in. Like mosquitoes, smelling my blood.
I hate mosquitoes.
Randy Tayler said,
June 27, 2008 @ 8:56 am
You’re insane. I like looking at pretty pictures of bugs too, but I cannot blithely accept the existence of such bugs INSIDE MY HOUSE. One bug I’ll coax outside. Two bugs, maybe. Three bugs, and it qualifies as an attack, and I’ll fight back with non-Geneva-approved poison gas.
INSANE, I tell you!