Thursday, May 8, 2008

Love Bugs Up Close






These are the same lovebugs, up close.

Love Bug







In spring, love bugs are everywhere. They don't sting or bite; they just fly around. I love love bugs.

Earth-Boring Dung Beetle







My friend, Abby, found this dung beetle digging away in a pile of weeds. When I picked it up, she thought it would bite.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Wolf Spider







This is a giant wolf spider. The top two pictures are of a female, and the bottom three are of a male. When I captured the female, she attempted to bite me but just scraped my fingernail instead. That was a close one, mate! Later, when I caught the male, he bit me on my finger. That was too close, mate! (Please do not try this at home!)

House Pseudoscorpion (False Scorpion)







I found this eating a butterfly at a park. This pseudoscorpion is only about 8 mm and the butterfly it was eating was about 3 in.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Mr. Alfred Snaily Snail






This is my new pet, Mr. Alfred Snaily Snail. He is a Manatee Tree Snail. I found him on a nature trail near a creek. At first, I thought it was just a cool shell, but the next morning, he was crawling around on the back porch. We made a home for him in a terrarium where he now sits on our homeschool table.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Brown Snake









Taking a nap one day, I awoke to this crawling across my face. Just Kidding! Actually, I was riding my bike when I heard the call of "Snake!" I dove off my bike and, half limping, half running ran to the place from whence the screams came. My mom was weeding and came across this little beasty -beauty. I LOVE SNAKES.