Flintstone Bugs, Rainbow Bugs and Doodleups!

Have you ever found a hole in the ground and just knew that you had to go "fishing"? Had to fish for doodleups? Or have you ever made a dirt house and caught Flintstone Bugs to use as residents of the house? Or at least have you ever marveled at the gorgeous, iridescent colors enameled on the back of a Rainbow Bug? Yes..you probably have but just have different names for the same bug.

If you are ever out in the yard where there is a bare spot of dirt, look for a small round hole in the ground. This hole will not have ants crawling in and out revealing that it is the nursery of a Doodleup. Now you can go fishing! Not for fish..for Doodleups! The process is simple..find a slim straw about twelve to fifteen inches long and slip it into the hole. If the Doodleup is home, the straw will begin to wiggle. Doodleup is trying to clean house and will attempt to push the straw from the hole. Quickly grasp the straw and in one clean movement, jerk the bug from the hole and onto the ground. Oh..and this is a larva not a bug per se. Oh..and do not pick up your prize..it will bite the bejeebies out of you! Oh..and do not kill the Doodleup..always let it go back into its hole.

If you are ever in a field of fresh-plowed dirt (preferably after a rain when the dirt is nice and gooey), try making a dirt house. It is real easy! Simply flatten out an area, take off your shoes if you are one of those people that insist on wearing such silly things and then set your foot in the middle of the cleared area. Start mounding dirt on top of your foot and patting it down firmly. Really press it down tightly! Now, very carefully slip your foot out of the mold. Tada! A dirt house! Now, scour the area and find a Flintstone Bug to live in your house. A word of warning..you will have to be fast! Flintstone Bugs are probably the fastest running beetles! Another word of warning..watch your bug once it is in your house..it will escape and you will have to go chasing after it again. (So never try to keep two! While you are out chasing one, the other will make a dash for it and then you will have none!) Oh yeah..I forgot to tell you to be careful when catching this beetle..it can bite really hard!

If you are ever out gadding about the garden or yard and see a flash of brilliant color down beneath your feet, do not stomp on it! There is a Rainbow Bug in your vicinity! A beautifully colored critter that just runs around looking pretty! The sunlight will glisten on the metallic colored wings almost causing them to look like rainbows hence the name..Rainbow Bug! The great beauty of this beetle will cause you to stop in your tracks and say something like "Wow, that bug looks like a rainbow!" Or if you are a little more knowledgeable, "Hey, look a beneficial bug, don't step on it!" or "Hey, that beetle can inflict a very painful bite!"

All of the above mentioned critters are one and the same. These are all local nicknames for the larvae and insect called the Carolina Tiger Beetle. Today, when I was out watering the rose bushes, a small insect scurried out of the mulch. As it skittered across the lawn, I was awe stricken at the beauty of this bug. I recognized it instantly and decided that a photo ops was in order. Knowing that both the larva and beetle do inflict painful bites, I grabbed a bowl and flipped the beetle into it with a leaf. Now that the Tiger Beetle was in the slippery bowl, I was able to photograph it without having to chase it around the yard! It ran and ran and ran at top speed up the sides of the bowl trying to escape. I was able to get quite a few pictures before taking the bug back to the rose garden and releasing it in the same spot where I found it. There it rested a bit near a sprig of grass before darting back into the mulch. I searched the area and only found one Doodleup hole and try as I might, I could not catch him for a picture. The old fingers are not as nimble as they used to be or maybe my reflexes have diminished with age or maybe the Doodleups are just smarter nowadays! (I, personally, like the last suggestion!) Doodleups..I am not sure why we called the larva this but it seemed like a great name when I was young. Flintstone Bug..this name is an easy one..for anyone that remembers..the dirt houses resemble the cave houses from the old cartoon. So, it was only natural that the residents of our dirt houses be named after the cartoon characters. Rainbow Bugs..this name is a given. The description of the insect mentions the beautiful, rainbow colors of the shell. Carolina Tiger Beetle..this is the proper name..but I sort of think is the dumbest of all..this is Mississippi!..and the bug definitely does not resemble a tiger at all!

I mentioned that the Carolina Tiger Beetle is a beneficial bug for the garden and it is! Both the larvae and the mature insects eat a lot of other harmful insects. So..keep those feet to yourself! If you want to find one of these bugs..look around in the mulch, under old boards or wood, near a water source or go out at night as they are nocturnal insects. Their flamboyant coloring makes them hard to miss!