| Special for the time
My fascination with insects began a long time ago. My mother sewed nets for me from the pure fabric she had. Then I threaded them onto a hanger bent into a circle, attached it to a short pole, and chased anything I could find in the neighborhood.
At some point, my father became interested in all the different bugs I was going to take home and suggested starting a collection. He made some very nice boxes for me and helped hang up and dry the many insects that I kept finding.
This collection lasted a very long time and was always on display in my classroom when I was a primary school teacher. It would trigger a short unit on insects that I would teach every year.
I am always a bit amazed at how little the population knows about the common insects that surround us in the summer months. Although I hate biting bugs, I find it an interesting pastime to watch the little creatures that visit our world.
It is important to recognize the different division of many beetles into two simple categories: insects, pests or beneficial insects. Insects like dragonflies are very useful. One of their main sources of food are mosquitoes and midges.
Although the praying mantis is not common in Minnesota, it is the assassin virus. It spends its day chasing insects, catching them, and then sucking off body fluids for lunch.
Both the ichneumon wasp and the braconid wasp are dependent on caterpillars in their life cycle. These insects lay both eggs in caterpillars and let their young devour the caterpillar inside out. Doesn’t sound nice, but it’s an advantage.
Some species of ants are also quite fascinating as they become scavengers of dead insects. This summer we came across dead dragonflies a few times that were being eaten by ants. When they were done, all that was left was the shell of the exoskeleton.
Nature has an interesting way of taking care of itself. It seems like little is wasted, especially in the insect world.
This is the opinion of outdoor columnist Jerry Carlson. Contact him at jerrycarlson@cloudnet.com.
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