After doing my chores today, I settled in at my desk to write the backstory for this October's clue hunt. I figure it is never too early to get started so I did. Actually, I have been working on ideas since this past November but getting them all down in story form took until today. I was just happy to be making a bit of progress! Things were going dandy until suddenly...kerplop! Yep...kerplop! A bug smacked my hand. Hmmm? I picked up the critter and released it outside. Alrighty then!
Living on a bayou, one gets accustomed to critters crawling about the place. I have no qualms about snatching up a bug and letting it be free unless it is one of the more unsavory sort. Those I smash...a quick and effective method of eradication. At first glance, I thought this was a Ladybug so without second guessing myself, the bug went free. I returned to my seat and started typing once again. Kerplop. Yep, another bug landed on me. This one became entangled in the hair and let its smelly stench about it when I tried to free it. Ugh! Another one went out the door. This time, the foresight kicked in and I quickly covered my mug of grapefruit juice. The coaster now became a lid! No need in allowing the bugs a free swim lesson! About four bugs later, my thoughtfulness paid off! A critter landed smack dab on top of the coaster I was using as a lid! Whew! It was then that I realized that there was indeed a problem. I was being invaded by the cutest critters even though I do believe I released a bunch of "False Ladybugs". (And that may prove to be detrimental to my gardening!) Still, it was an invasion of cuteness!
Seventeem bugs later, I decided that the vacuum cleaner would make the job easier. Somehow, the critters must have overwintered in my walls and the warm sunshine brought them out in hoards. A good many had the smarts to escape to freedom by going on the outside of the window screen but dozens upon dozens made their way inside through my open windows. Outside, the Yellow-rumped Warblers were having a heyday! Even the foul smell that the Ladybugs emit when threatened did not deter the birds. Several of the warblers even hung around until after dark to snatch up any hapless bugs. I only wish a couple of those birds would have ventured inside to do the job!
Lovebugs..those pesky things that get stuck to your car grill every time you drive down the highway during April and September. You know..the little black bugs with the red dot that is actually the thorax (yeah..I knew that! Ha!) and that are literally "attached" as they live up to their name. Yes..those. Where are they? I sat in the yard today watching a spider weave its web when it occurred to me that usually this time of year that web would be full of lovebugs. There was not a one. So I started wandering around the yard to see if I could spy any. Nope..nary a one. This is unusual. The pesky little critters are normally everywhere this time of year. I love to open my windows to feel the cooling bay breezes and as you can tell by the photos from last year, most years this is almost impossible. With the open windows, lovebugs would be in the house..even with window screens. (Somehow they can squeeze through the tiny mesh of the screens with their partner still attached.) Then they would be on the curtains..on the lamps..on the walls..in your food. Yes, even in the food. It is not unheard of to have a few fly above the steaming pot of food cooking on the stove only to have them plummet right in for a swim. It had gotten to the point that we would just fish them out and continue eating. As nasty as that sounds, you sort of get used to having them be a part of your daily existence. You live with the creepy-crawly feeling in your hair and the living "jewelry" on your clothes. But not this year. Where are they? Why is there not the mass of black, crawling dots covering everything in sight? I hate to say this but I sort of miss them! Ha! Don't believe a word of that statement!
Actually, these little critters have some beneficial points that most of us do not realize. The female lays up to 350 eggs in rotting vegetation and after these hatch the larvae eat this decaying plant matter. They then convert it into very rich organic material that is good for the soil. Since these bugs do not bite nor sting, they are not a danger to humans at all. Our only complaint is that they are such a nuisance and can reek havoc on our car's paint finish. A really good coat of wax on the car before lovebug season helps with this, plus washing the car often to remove them prevents any lasting damage. Or you could just be like me and stay home! Maybe we should just be thankful for a year without them. And maybe, just maybe..I do sort of miss them..just a wee bit..maybe..nah, I guess not.
