My insect experiences

Today I have spent some time thinking about insects. Some insects are good, and some insects are bad. Here I will detail past experiences that have led me to want to adopt some insects, and the ways in which I have terminated the lives of other insects that I consider(ed) irritating or EVIL in some way.

Ants

Ants eh? I spent a small proportion of my childhood drowning ants en masse with mon frere. This was in the days of setting up a Grand National course (buckets, washing line poles propped against a wall as fences, those were the days) in the garden on Grand National day and galloping/tripping over the various obstacles before betting all our pocket money on horses that fell at the first fence. Hmmm. Then one day I realised drowning ants was wrong, and stopped.

Silverfish

Why are they called this? Because they are very small fish with legs, that is why. You would think therefore that I would love this particular species of insect, but no! The only place I have ever seen a silverfish is in my bed, and fish do not belong in beds. They belong in ponds and in the sea. I have never killed a silverfish as they run very quickly but if I could i would destroy them all with tiny cotton thread nooses in a large-scale silverfish-hanging ceremony.

Ladybirds

The friendliest beetle of them all. When I was in nursery I was doing a project on "minibeasts" and I wrote about a ladybird I saw in the post office. It was licking stamps for a lady with a genetic inability to produce saliva, how nice is that? I love ladybirds. What's that, your ladybird has died? I've got a ladybird. I don't know what I would do without my ladybird.

Bluebottles, wasps, moths and bees

DIE!!!!!!!!

Drosophila (melanogaster)

We have a love-hate relationship. They have disgusting larvae. I will never quite forget the joy(!) of watching the larval guts explode through a microscope while pulling one apart using two pairs of forceps. However, it is the only insect I have ever been able to observe with an extra pair of legs instead of antennae (as a mutation, not in a normal fly, silly), and for that I am truly grateful.

Locusts

After a dissection experiment all I can think about when the name "locust" is mentioned is the sight of an open-chested, beheaded locust still hopping on the lab bench.

Yay for picture posting!

So there you have it. Insects. Wahey.