Mr. Sparkles

   I always say that you never know what you will find in the Little Bayou House.  It is filled with oddities that have come to call the place home by pure happenstance most of the time.  Then, there are the living things that somehow find their way in for a visit.  Critters that live around the Bayou are not overly picky about their living quarters so any nook or cranny will suffice.  This does not usually cause too much concern as I simply put the critters back outside where they belong with a stern warning not to return.  We have had birds, raccoons, possums, squirrels, snakes, frogs, lizards and every possible (or so I thought) insect creepy-crawling or slithering about the house at some point.  Hmmm...we even had a baby otter visit but that was not by his choice.  Back when the kids were growing up, they found critters, brought them home and called them pets.  These wild "pets" were allowed a short stay before they were returned to where they were found.  I assumed this was a learning experience since my siblings and I did the same.  I guess a house is a home to a lot more than just the human family that resides there.

  This morning, I was sweeping the dust bunnies out of the living room when I noticed a "sparkly" on the floor.  Assuming this was some random bead left over from my granddaughter's stay a few weeks ago, I reached down and picked up said sparkly.  Hmmm...beads do not wiggle.  Yep, it was a bug.  Another critter had found its way inside the house.  "Sparkles" (its name now) was unlike any critter that I had seen before.  It literally seemed like it was covered with glitter. Most of the time, it gleamed bright green but occasionally certain spots seemed gold.  Time for a few photographs before "Sparkles" headed back outside. 

  After a little research, I have about decided this is none other than a Metallic Woodboring Beetle.  There are numerous types but, thankfully, this is not a "bad" beetle.  Yes, it does gnaw on wood but only on dead or dying trees (which there are many here due to termites.  Yep, termites have infested the live trees.)  Anyway, what I found most interesting about Sparkles is that it is really not all those colors.  Its exoskeleton has divots on the surface and those only reflect certain colors.  Mr. Sparkles obviously loves green!...and maybe gold!  Actually, the whole critter is iridescent but the little divots reflect the most light...sort of like an inverse disco ball!  

  The beetle was so pretty that I had to carry it all the way down to the canebrake where Son was pulling out the dead canes.  While showing him our glittery friend, he suggested that it may have come in with an armload of firewood.  Ahh, probably right!  My first thought was to return Mr. Sparkles to the outdoor wood rack but then I had the horrible thought that he may not make it through the next cold spell.  It was pure luck that he crawled out of the firewood in time with his first adventure indoors.  He may not be so lucky next time!  So...I made the decision to let the critter loose on the old oak stump.  There, he could find lots of old wood to munch and some pretty snug places to overwinter if the weather turns cold.  Now...I can mark Metallic Woodboring Beetle off the list of Little Bayou House guests!  Like I said, you never know just what you might find here.

 

Tiny Nightlights!

   Folks, this is just a head's up for any of you that insist on spraying your yards the instant you see an ant, beetle or mosquito.  Yep, it is all fine and dandy for you but, just keep in mind, your spray is generally not species specific.  It kills.  It kills more than your targeted bugs.  So what?  Yeah, I know you thought it.  Well, it is devastating to the well being of other critters...even larger ones.  Those cute little bunnies munch on the grass that is chemical laden, the honeybees die along with your mosquitoes even pets can fall ill.  (Think pet walking through grass that has been sprayed then licking its paws.)  Then...you, yourself track that stuff into your home so you are breathing it.  Not too nice.  While I am not opposed to getting rid of pests, just be careful what is sprayed around your place.

  This morning, I noticed a tiny beetle on one of the lilies that was starting to sprout out of the ground.   As I bent closer to check out my critter, I realized that the beetle was actually a firefly, lightning bug or glowworm...whatever you wish to call it.  (I grew up with lightning bugs!)  The critters use bioluminescence to attract mates during the evening hours.  Those soft little, blinking lights are a thrill to see but are also becoming quite scarce.  This is largely due to the bug sprays people use.  The lightning bugs lie low during the daylight hours and that puts them right in the midst of the chemicals.  Poor little critters don't stand a chance.  

  Folks, I just ask that you please use a bit of commonsense and let future generations of kids (of all ages) be thrilled by the sight of these wondrous critters.  Lightning bugs never cease to amaze those seeing them for the first time or for the thousandth time.  They are Mother Nature's nightlights!  Let them live.

That's FALSE!

  Sometimes we can be mistaken about things and the best thing to do is research the subject to find the facts.  I did just that today.  The Bayou Princess Cat has been ill and needed to go to the Pet Hospital.  That involves getting her in the carrier case which is quite the ordeal.  First the crate had to be retrieved from the shed attic and cleaned.  It was that cleaning that gave me the first inkling that I needed to do a bit of fact-finding.  In the carrier, there was a critter.  A rather unusual looking bug was staring back up at me.  Well, now!  Just who are you, bug?

  The bug was flipped out of the carrier and onto the floor.  It stared at me as if to say "Woman!  Why are you evicting me?  What have I ever done to you?"  The bug did not look particularly mean so I had intentions of letting it go outside.  While it sat still for a photograph, that critter could move when it wanted!  Now, instead of cleaning the cat crate, I was hopping around the kitchen trying to catch a critter!  While I had no intentions of killing the thing, I sure did not want it in the house!  After a good many fruitless attempts, I was finally able to capture said bug and toss it out the back door.  Then...then!  I had second thoughts!  What if that was another of those critters that eat garden plants??  Time to investigate yet another bug.

  Well, thankfully, this was not a garden pest.  This critter is called a False Bombardier Beetle.  (Yeah, I felt bad for the bug, too.  It cannot even get a "true" name...False Bombardier Beetle.  Crazy!)  It seems that this is one of those critters that use mimicry to keep from being eaten.  The (true) Bombardier Beetle shoots some pretty toxic substances at its predators (and humans) but our little buggy just pretends to be the other so it will not be eaten!  After finding out it was harmless, I read further to discover that this is actually one that is good for the garden!  It seems that our little "false" friend eats garden pests...especially caterpillars and larval stage bugs (like those squash bugs and cabbage worms!)  Well now, Little False One, you can live happily in the garden because you will definitely catch more caterpillars there than in the cat crate!

Here's Mama!

  For the past several years, I have been noticing some pretty elaborate caterpillar looking critters happily munching on the leaves of the Groundsel bushes near the shore end of the pier.  Groundsel bushes are also known as salt myrtle as they grow in or around salt marshes.  They are low growing, thick bushes that make a plethora of fluffy, white seeds that look a lot like swarming termites when they are being scattered by the wind.  (Yes, termites are bad down here so anytime there is a "swarm" of anything, we think termites.) The caterpillars munch away on the leaves until the bushes are pretty much stripped.  Then, the little buggers go into hiding until they do their larva-changing-into-adult thing.  

  Today, instead of caterpillars, I found the adults.  The adults are beetles that look quite different from the caterpillars or larvae   Where the young are brightly colored and iridescent (almost metallic looking), the beetles are bright yellow and black.  The beetles were so busy eating that they were oblivious to my attempts at photographing them.  Dozens of the critters crawled about the bush and I am sure there were just as many on the other bushes along the shoreline.  We have an infestation of cute, little bugs!

  Long story, made short.  It seems that the beetle was introduced to keep the invasive Groundsel bush in check.  While I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story, it may make sense in a weird sort of way to whoever thought of it.  Why not introduce yet another possibly invasive species into an area that is plagued by so many?   I will say, if the bush is invasive, the caterpillars and beetles are doing their part of stripping the leaves and perhaps weakening it but who is to say that these critters are not going to move on to other plants?  Oh, well.  At least they are cute!...but I could do with the invasive part.  Maybe if they ate termites....just saying...

Winter Is Wearing

  I started out with a bang this morning.  The recent mass of cold days that kept me stuck inside the Little Bayou House had only led me to the notion that I needed to be outside.  Since the weather is highly agreeable, now was the time to put into motion all of the ideas that cluttered the mind.  I wanted to rip out the gardens and get set for spring.  One of the things that needed tending was the board path that leads down to the pier.  Over the nigh on fifteen years that the path has existed, time has taken its toll.  Dozens of the boards were rotted while others had become out of line and made walking a bit hazardous.  It was my idea to remove the entire mess and start over.  This notion led to other things and soon (in my mind, at least) the entire garden area needed to be revamped.  So, while Mark and Son replaced some rotted siding on the house, I set to work digging out boards. This task was much easier in my mind than in reality.  Tonight, I am sore.  Every muscle in my body seems to scream when I move.  While physically I am in pain, mentally, I am elated.  So much was accomplished!  The board path has been removed, dirt leveled and the area is ready for revamping.  Gardens have bulbs removed, dirt turned and edging removed.  Leaves have been raked, hauled and burned.  It feels good.

  While removing the planks that made up the pathway, I had to use an axe to knock out the huge spikes that held them in place.  This, also, rendered the boards useless as they splintered and broke.  Inside one of the huge timbers that lined the walk, beetles tumbled out in mass confusion.  The critters obviously had decided to overwinter inside the rotted wood.  These huge, two-inch-long insects had tunneled throughout the timber causing even more rot.  My first instinct was to kill the critters and rid the garden of all insects but, then, I recalled hearing somewhere that there are a few beetles that actually feed on garden pests.  Not being one that is particularly up on my beetle species, I had no idea whether this was a "good" beetle or a "bad" beetle.  So...the critters went free except for one poor beetle that had not made it through the winter.  The one in the photograph had met its demise through some other means other than by my hand.  Its body did make for a good photo opportunity as dead beetles sit really still unlike their live counterparts.

The Water Walkers

  Have you ever thought of just how neat it would be to walk on water? If not, take a moment to think about it!  Say I wanted to head over to the other side of the Bayou, I would just step off the pier and stride right on over.  There would be no need for a boat and I would not have to worry about stepping on a stingray!  What could be nicer?  Yep, I do think about these things occasionally.  Usually it is when I see some interesting object on the far side of the Bayou and I am just too lazy to paddle the boat over to investigate.  Walking would be much easier and quicker.

  The thought occurred to me again today while I was out by the little Frog Pond.  I was pondering if I needed to thin out the Water Hyacinths again since they are (as Pop would have said) as thick as the hair on a dog!  Anyway, while checking the hyacinths, I noticed several little critters skittering about on the surface of the water.  Now if I tried that, I would be ten feet under!  What gives?  Why can a bug walk on water and not me?   Anyway, come to find out, it is combination of the way the insect is created and the condition of the water.  A thin film usually accumulates on still waters and since the water walkers weigh practically nothing, they can stay atop.  The long, thin legs of "Pond Striders" allows them to literally walk on water!  If this water had been moving, either by current or wind, the critter would be washed under.  

  It does amaze me just how critters do this.  Think how practical it would be to have this ability.  I made my pondering evident to Son who made the remark "Just wait until the pond freezes and you can walk on it."  Nope, not me.  I would fall right through the ice or slip and slide around like a greased pig.  I guess I will leave the water walking to the critters.