Ask Me, the Spazz!

[Amaranthine]

Man! I'm jealous that you have rattiekins and all of those pets!

If your cat lived with your rats or other exotic pets, did he/she get along with them?

[FlipperBoidSkua]

They are interesting and fun in their own ways. Some I decided to get for the most unlikely reasons, e.g. I got the sugar gliders cuz I saw some lady ranting on how much they suck as pets and I wanted to see for myself (they make wonderful loving pets! I have no idea what that lady was talking about); the antlion I got because of this very short, amusing little video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwqVWUSNIxg

Yeah, I try to comfort myself with the thought that the ones left behind when we had to move (consisting of Morphy, Spazz, Fluffy, the gerbil and sugar glider duo, Fudge, Terror, and my little insects) are being well taken care of and living happily. Especially Fluffy as he's the only one we left in a shelter cause none of our friends wanted a cat. Dad was only making us choose one pet and it was the hardest decision I ever had to make. I decided to take Marble and Caramel as Dad had planned to leave them in a petstore, where I knew they'd most likely be sold as snake food or something and I can't stand that thought!

If I can find some of the old photos, I can post them! I know for a fact we have several of our pets: one of Fluffy rolling on the floor and looking adorable, of Justin playing tug-a-war with my ear (thank goodness he was gentle), of Spazz's first birthday where she's stepping all over her 'cake', Fuz-Bal nom-noming on her favorite cardboard tube, Monster chilling on my shoulder and keeping me company as I do homework, Shoogy and Gliga clinging to my sister's head and face (that was a fun one! ), Fudge in the middle of one of his dust-baths, and Marble and Caramel being the sweethearts they are and trying to help me open my Christmas present. I recently tried to take pics of my buggies as well. One of the tiger beetles accidently slammed head-on into camera and all I gotten was a blur (I dunno how bug photographers do it; these beetles just move too much, too fast!); he's okay after the collision, though I like to imagine some confusion afterward, like "where the heck did this giant flashing box come from?!"   My mantis' kept climbing onto the camera whenever they catch sight of it, though the male preferred jumping away from it. All anyone will probably see of my antlion is his hunting pit in our bowl of multi-colored sand (though the swirls he makes are very pretty!).

New question: Do you find that you’re more of a cat person or a dog person?

That's a hard one, I love them both soooo much. Um....probably leaning a bit more to cats. I had more positive experiences with them when I was younger. Almost all the cats I met were playful and friendly, a few keeping their distance. Of course, I met a lot of friendly, playful dogs, but a few actively attacked my sister and one chased me when I was riding my bike (it was my neighbor's dog, which I knew was mean). I never pedaled so fast in my life  :blink: .

Ooooo! New fanfic recommendations! I read one story from Malte on FF.net and I liked it! I should check this one out too! And the Threehorn one sounds interesting (I don't like Tria and Tricia at all and thought the movies were better without them). BTW, I forgot to thank you for telling me (unintentionally) of the book Dinosaur Wars! I read one of your posts mentioning it and I decided to check it out myself. I'm not very far in it, but I like what I read so far! :^.^:

Man! I'm jealous that you have rattiekins and all of those pets!

If your cat lived with your rats or other exotic pets, did he/she get along with them?

I love my rattiekins and now I can't possibly think of life without them! They're such sweethearts and the girls I've gotten are typical of female ratties, aka they're just as spazzy and fun-loving as I am!   I'm thinking of getting boys too (certainly not in the same cage as my girls; I don't want Caramel and Domino being moms!!), since they're adorably lazy lap-rats.

Fluffy knew Caramel and Marble and he, being the laid-back little puffball he was, didn't seem to have the slightest predatory interest in them. We had taught him to behave around our smaller pets and he seemed to understand the ratties were off-limits. So when my ratties are on the loose, having fun and getting into mischief, Fluffy just watched and left them alone. Caramel and Marble, having learned that Fluffy's one of the family, loved him and actively seeked him out to try and play with him. Then it's the comical scene of Fluffy trying to escape their attention. I guess he thought he'd get in trouble if he interacted with them or something. I certainly wouldn't recommend leaving them alone together, but if introduced correctly, they should get along with supervision. At least mine did.

Spazz and Fluffy got along just as well. Spazz too would try to play with Fluffy, though Fluffy was less enthusiastic with games. He also seemed annoyed when Spazz would take food from his bowl (even when he's in the middle of eating!) and steal his cat-toys to hide with her other buried treasure (I still miss that little kleptomaniac   ! She stole my dad's quarter collection!!). But they seemed to be good friends in that Fluffy sometimes turned the tables and 'ambushed' Spazz for a rough-and-tumble game.

Fluffy and the gliders pretty much ignored each other, though sometimes they would give Fluffy a heart-attack when they unexpectedly try to land on him.  

He would sometimes come up to sniff and paw at one of our gerbils, but immediately walked away when he gets their attention and gerbils think he wants to play. He's a spoil-sport!

Reptile-wise: He and Morphy had minimal interaction given that Morphy spends most of his time in his water tank. But sometimes we take him out for some genuine sunlight and he would tuck his head in his shell whenever Fluffy (or anyone for that manner) came close (one notable exception is when he actually charged at Spazz, who bounded off into her little war dance, dooking happily). Fluffy only met Terror once in the initial introduction, but our little snake felt threatened, so we made sure not to stress him out anymore. When Monster was still alive (*snifflies* He was my favorite reptile pet; any who wants a calm, friendly, seemingly-affectionate reptilian pet, I highly recommend the bearded dragon!), he had a few Close Encounters of the Mammalian Kind and he tolerated Fluffy, letting the kitty paw and sniff at him, though he did hiss once or twice when Spazz made a hyper-active approach.

They may seem insignificant, but I like to include my buggies into our family introductions!  At the time we had Fluffy, we had our usual mantids and tiger beetles as well as a few other species. They only met each other on the introductions, after which we kept them seperated from our other pets. The mantis' each threatened Fluffy with flared wings before deciding that he's just a living bush to be climbed on (that last part freaked Fluffy out!). The tiger beetles (each held so they can't run off and be lost somewhere in the house hold; they're reeeeaaaallllllyyyy hard to catch) actively tried to bite Fluffy with their nasty-looking jaws (brave little buggers). As for our additional insects: our stag beetle ignored him, our assassin bug tried to 'bite' him and actually stalked and pursued him a little, and we kept Fluffy well-away from the ant-farms in case he would knock them down.

Man, thinking of all this makes me cry a bit . The memories live on and I don't think I'll ever forget any of them. Sorry about the long post, I love talking about my pets despite the tears it risks bringing on.

[Pangaea]

*reads entire post with rapt interest* Wow. Again you have all my sympathy for the pets you had to part with, and I’m sorry about the sadness the memories bring on, but I loved reading this. Some of the stories you described were so funny! I also envy you; I don’t think my family has ever owned pets that got along with each other. (And I would love to own a bearded dragon someday…)

The insect part didn’t seem insignificant to me. I’m actually very interested and curious about them, like where you got them, what specific species they are (if you know), what you feed them, how you house them; how you care for them in general. (This is a new question. )

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Our pets were spazzes!   They rubbed off on me, or vice versa! I guess it depends on the personalities on whether they get along or not (any scientist who claims animals have no emotions or personalities has obviously never owned a pet before). We always try to foster good relationships between our animals (treating them whenever they behave), and respect when one of them just doesn't get along with the others (poor Terror was the one being terrified). And of course, keeping certain ones completely away from another that they'll be a danger to (Spazz never knew we had ratties as I've seen those videos on youtube showing how ferrets will viciously attack a rattie even when they've never seen one before). Given Spazz's ADHD personality, we trusted her far less than we trusted Fluffy when it came to predatory instincts. And you should get a beardie, the best lizard one could ask for once it's socialized! Monster and I used to spend hours a day just chillin' on our quiet time together. After the hyperactive-ness of most of my pets and the usually hilarious drama that goes with it, it's good to just end the day relaxing and doing some quiet tasks like reading and writing while the lovable lizard sits on your shoulder or head or tummy if your laying down.   Then while we were on vacation on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas, tragedy struck the household. The pet-sitter didn't notice that Monster's heating lamp broke and, being a desert dweller and in desperate need of high temps, Monster didn't last too long before.........  We found him laying on his basking rock and I thought he was sleeping. Then, when it was time for our evening chilling time, I finally realized he wasn't going to wake up. I couldn't stop crying for weeks... *is tearing up right now as I'm typing this*

I'm sorry. *wipes away tears* Maybe I should move to a less depressing subject... *bucks up and tries to resume my spazzy personality as my buggies certainly brought happiness with their memory*

The insect part didn’t seem insignificant to me. I’m actually very interested and curious about them, like where you got them, what specific species they are (if you know), what you feed them, how you house them; how you care for them in general. (This is a new question. )

*has taken a few minutes break in replying to cheer up and is finally ready to reply with renewed spazziness!!   * Yay! Someone who finally appreciates insects!! Now.....prepare for a very long and very detailed post containing the wisdom that I gained via my experiences, Fwee-fwee-fwee-fwee-fwee-fweeeeeee (that's my menacing evil laughter )!! Most of my insect pets were either ordered off the internet (as is the case of my more exotic specimens), gotten off the wild, or gifts from friends when they visit some foreign place. And the majority of them live very short lives, though I'm not too sure of the lifespan of some (e.g. the assassin bug, the ant queen, etc.)

The Mantids: Before we moved, I truely had some interesting species. One was a bizzare Indian Rose Mantis humorously named Twiggy and the other a gorgeous Devil's Flower Mantis named Aithne. I got these pics off the internet and are not pics of my actual pets, but it pretty much shows what they looked like:

Rose Mantis:


Devil's Flower Mantis:


The others were more common species, like the Chinese Mantis and the Carolina Mantis. The two I have currently are both Giant Asian Mantis' (brother and sister from the same egg case; of course kept in seperate quarters; their siblings I let free in the backyard for 'pest control'). They're each kept in their own good-sized 'Pet Keeper', for the lack of better words. Inside, it's equipped with some vegetation and sticks and I mist it according to individual needs. I feed them feeder crickets (which in turn has no carrots in their diet! Carrot-fed crickets are dangerous for mantids to eat!) and other insects I find in the petstore and the occasional fly that enters our house (I even have a schedule on who gets to eat it, both for the mantis' and my other predatory bugs). For variety, I also give them very-rare 'treats' of jam or honey when I take them out for interaction; they lick it off your hand and will continue licking your now sweet and salty skin; they also enjoy cooked piece of meat, which is also given in great moderation. Handling them is very easy, I dare say they're relatively smart bugs as they seem to be able to tell the difference between my sister (who never has food and they treat as a threat) and myself (who always gives them their food and they willingly climb onto my hand). Sometimes, they were a bit more rebellious and, only if I absolutely HAVE to bother them (like when it's time to clean their homes), I hold my hand vertically over their heads and they usually climb on by instinct. All the mantis' were gotten off the internet.

Tiger Beetles: Most were six-spotted tiger beetles. Again I had exotic varieties before I moved. My forever-traveling friend (well aware of my love for tiger beetles) got me a couple of Green Tiger Beetles from Europe, but my most gorgeous one was a Japanese Tiger Beetle she's given me after returning from another one of her trips (along with the perserved body of the notorious and pwnsome Japanese Giant Hornet!!). That one was a multi-colored beauty!! Again, these images are from the internet, but sums up the whole thing (what I wanna know is how do the photographers keep them still long enough to take pictures?! All my attempts end in blurs!!)

Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle:


Green Tiger Beetle:


Japanese Tiger Beetle, my most prized beetle for obvious reasons:


I'm envious of those who took the pics.....Maybe I should hire a professional to take pics of mine. Currently, all five I have are six-spotted and live in an aquarium together. It's sandy and vegetation is scarce to give them room to run. There's a few burrow-like places for each to take shelter at night. I mist them, though they don't seem to need it too much. They eat feeder crickets and wingless fruit flies, and I also give them ants and moths and flies that stray into our house. In fact, the beetles seem to be more interested in food that puts up a fight; maybe the movement catches their attention more keenly....Anyway, whoever gets the 'treat' depends on behavior (my failed attempt to get instinctual critters to behave   ); the first one who doesn't try to attack the tweezers gets the treat.....but unfortunately, they don't seem to be as 'trainable' as the mantids, and are nowhere near calm enough. It's a hastle trying to catch them in their own tank and I leave them in a mini-version tank when I need to clean their home. They've bitten me several times, and their jaws are strong enough to draw blood from my finger and it hurts a lot, but I don't hold it against them as I know they're just trying to defend themselves. While they're not big on handling, they're very amusing to watch and I notice that one of mine (which I call Jolt) is very....clumsy. He (or she, it's harder to tell male and female for these beetles than for the mantids) always bumps into things and winds up on his/her back all the time. I know tiger beetles move so fast that they go blind, but this is ridiculous!   Luckily, he/she always recovers as if nothing happened and seems to be in very good health, so I just take it as a quirk. :^.^:

My Stag Beetle: I only had one before we moved and he was a monster-sized bugger! Again, my traveling friend got him from Japan, claiming he's one of the notorious bug-fighting champions. I highly doubt that, but whatever. I named him Takeo, as it seemed to be a fitting name in that it means 'strong, valiant male' in Japanese. I'm not sure what species he was but he was very strong and very impressive. Though it doesn't hurt when he 'clamps' my hand with his mandibles, I could actually feel the lifting power (I let him believe my hand's a rival beetle whenever he gets fighty, and I always let him win, probably to make him feel good   ). But he's a calm pet, much like my mantids, and didn't seem to care for interaction as he just chills wherever I put him (probably because he's nocturnal and I usually take him out during the day). If I could risk anthropomorphizing (spelling?) him, I'd say he's the strong, silent, 'nothing-fazes-me' type. I kept him in an aquarium as well, though not as big as the one that holds my tiger beetles. I tried to make it as 'forest-floor'-like as I can (since I didn't know his species, I tried to generalize his habitat to the best of my knowledge) and it seemed to fit his needs. I took him out to feed him; his diet consisted of the juice of soft fruits, like melons and over-ripe mangos. I also give him sugared water and honey to mimic sap as best I could. He, along with most of my bugs left behind, was given to a family friend who loves insects and is an entomologist.

My Assassin Bug:
Insert internet image!!  



His species was a wheel bug, and he lived in a Pet Keeper like my mantis'. I had put in vegetation and flowers and such to imitate a typical backyard garden. I carefully fed him the usual feeder bugs in the petstore and the treats I caught in the house. He's particularly fond of any caterpillars I find outside. I keep contact with him to a very minimal as his bite is very, very painful (my sister is full on scared of him cause he bit her) and his almost two-inch size (rough estimate)made him even more formidable. I took his behavior to be quite aggressive as I'm sure you remember what I said in the Fluffy encounter. On the very rare times I've handled him by bare-hand, I kept a very close watch on his beak to make sure it wasn't moving to bite and I listened for any raspy sound he made when feeling threatened and I was sure never to grab him and let him move at his own free will. I don't recommend this species or any assassin bug species for beginners as they're very touchy and potentially deadly to those who might be allergic. He was taken from the wild as a nymph and I cared for him to full size. Luckily, my entomologist friend was more than willing to risk caring for him as he had several assassin bugs himself.

The Ants: Had four tanks, three of which I dunno what species; one ant farm had black ants; one had red; and the other had brownish looking ants. A typical ant farm and I fed them basically anything and everything! There's not much exciting things to be said other than that the fourth was a slightly 'make-shift' ant farm consisting of my favorite types of ants: the Amazon slave-makers. I couldn't help myself and prepared for the violence and chaos I was going to see during the whole process. Following the instructions of how to build an ant farm (with a few quirks), I bought a fourth experimental ant farm consisting of a very young and very small colony of black ants, then actively searched out the nest of the yellowish-red slave-making ants I frequently watched while walking to school and back (this frequent observation contributed a huge part to my liking of them). I dug up their nest for the queen and took as much warriors, slaves, and young as my containers can hold without killing them (the Amazon warriors and the queen were temporarily kept seperate from the slaves and the young). I then put all the warriors and their queen into the black ant farm. Needless to say, this ended in big confrontation and the deaths of many ants, though more black ants were dying than slave-makers (it was like watching 30 Hornets vs 30,000 bees on youtube, but ant-version). But after a bit, the rest of the black ants seemed to just panic as I watched some wander to a slave-maker, make antennae contact, then run like crazy.  :blink: Luckily, the queen followed her instincts and made it safely inside the nest and killed the resident queen (unfortunately, I didn't witness the battle; just the aftermath) and they eventually took over. Once the aggression began dying down after about an hour or two, and the Amazons seemed to realize that they can't escape the ant tank and have no choice but to make home base here with their queenie, I reunited the still-waiting slaves and young kept in the other container with their Amazon colony. This being an experiment, however, I soon learned this species of ant is high-maintance for a bug (for any pet as far as I'm concerned). I felt like a slave myself in that I had to provide new slaves by going off to some ant hill outside and digging them up for eggs and pupae, all the while getting bitten by the residents....It wasn't fun, but it was worth the trouble in keeping the Amazon ants and studying them closer than I could ever establish on my walks. Again, I left them with Bug-man and gave very specific (and probably unneeded as he was the expert) instructions on how to care for them, emphasizing that they must always be provided with slaves or the whole colony will collapse and die. And told him specifically to never give them my other ant farms as those colonies I've bonded with and wished for them to be given a bright future. Hopefully, he listened to me.... If anyone's interested in keeping Amazon ants, I only recommend it if your willing to go through the pains (literally) of providing for them... It's with experiments like this where I hope I can keep people from making mistakes they might regret later. Not to say Amazon ants are a nightmare to keep (you can't even train them!! :^.^:), but I'd certainly think twice about trying to get a new colony of them now.

And speaking of ants, the last bug on the list is practically the only reason I still go out in active search for ants....

My Antlion: I got him off the internet and I'm expecting him to live for three years before going through metamorphosis (spelling?) and being released. For a bit, I kept him in a bowl of sugar while I tried to find suitable fine-grain sand (makes for a good practical joke too when you have visitors and they wonder why sugar is being flung at them   ). He took to living in sugar very well before being transferred to the large bowl of multi-colored sand that he now resides in. He doesn't need misting as he gets his water from the food he eats. And food takes the form of ants mostly, though he'd happily take anything he can drag underground and I give him treats just as much as my other buggies. Only cleaning necessary is getting rid of the dead bodies he flings out the pit (antlions don't produce waste and lets three years worth of it accumulate in their body in preparation for adult-changing!!). He's easy to handle as you only need to scoop him out with a spoon or something and he doesn't bite at all. And he walks backwards, which I find cute. He changes hunting pits regularly and makes 'doodle' marks all over the bowl before settling on a new spot and digging. I then treat myself to see what pretty patterns he makes this time!!  

In the future, I plan on getting yet more different species of insects and my ultimate insect dream is working in entomology and rearing a captive nest of Japanese Giant Hornets (as if that's ever going to happen : , but I can dream, can't I?). There's many more bugs I always wanted to have and I'm currently researching if it's possible to care for robberflies (specifically bearded robberflies and bumblebee robberflies) in captivity.

Those are all the details I can think of giving on my buggies. I hope they're helpful to any who might be considering these types of buggies for pets and I hope your satisfied with the answers I gave you, Pangaea   !

[Adder]

Are those bugs your pets? I have to admit this picture scared me:

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Those aren't the actual photos of the pets, but they're photos of the species I've kept.

  Yeah, they can be scary buggers. I was definitely uneased when I first saw the pic below, as it definitely made tiger beetles look murderous.



I dunno what it is about the species that draws me to them as pets, but they're just too awesome to ignore. They're pets to watch, not pets to really interact with and I was never too fond of that, but....I dunno, something about them makes me wanna keep them regardless of the "No touchy" rule. *has been put under their spell!!*

[Adder]

^Woah-don't want to wake up to that staring at me.  

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Ah, dude. Even if I love my buggies, I'd have a heart attack if I woke up one morning to see this a few inches from my face!  :blink: That's probably on the list of Nightmare Fuels!

[Pangaea]

Augh…Again with me taking forever to respond to our posts! So sorry about that!

Once again, your post was far more comprehensive and informative than I had expected. In fact, it had a lot of information on those insects that I didn’t know. :! Thank you so much! (I’ve come up with a few new questions; keep an eye out for them in my response below.)

For variety, I also give them very-rare 'treats' of jam or honey when I take them out for interaction; they lick it off your hand and will continue licking your now sweet and salty skin; they also enjoy cooked piece of meat, which is also given in great moderation. Handling them is very easy, I dare say they're relatively smart bugs as they seem to be able to tell the difference between my sister (who never has food and they treat as a threat) and myself (who always gives them their food and they willingly climb onto my hand).

That is so cool! I never knew mantises ate anything besides insects and other small animals! (Maybe they acquire a sweet tooth from eating pollinating insects with stomachs full of nectar.) The image for the flower mantis isn’t showing up, but I searched for a picture of the species online, and wow! I agree, that’s one awesome-looking mantis! I’ve been crazy about mantises for a long time; now your post has made me want to own one!

Tiger beetles are another kind of insect I love. In my opinion, they’re both some of the coolest and most terrifying-looking insects out there. I think I first found out about them when I watched a nature documentary series on insects called Alien Empire when I was between eight and twelve; it took a less-than two-minute-long clip of a single tiger beetle stalking and tearing apart a moth for me to discover my new favorite bug. I think it was the narrator’s statement that, for its size, the tiger beetle is “more fearsome than a tiger, and faster than a cheetah” that hooked me. (Back then, I considered it the epitome of awesomeness for a creature to be compared to a big cat; I thought tiger sharks were far cooler than great whites. ) Weirdly, though, I’ve never done a lot of research on tiger beetles like I have with a lot of creatures I’m interested in. By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of a Japanese tiger beetle before; it’s gorgeous! My reactions to your stories about your experiences with them were :blink: to the part about their jaws being able to draw blood, and to the part about Jolt.

The stag beetle sounds like an awesome pet. It would be so neat to hold a giant beetle like that, especially getting to feel the lifting power of their jaws like you described. About how big would you say he was?

I recognized the wheel bug right away; I got to see some when I visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom in November. Didn’t know you could be allergic to them; I’ll remember that. :blink:

That experiment you did with the slavemaker ants sounds fascinating! I’m amazed by how committed you were to the task; you actually dug up a nest of those ants for the queen?! Did you get a lot of bites and/or stings in the process? I’m also curious as to how you found and identified the wild slavemakers in the first place; did you know what they were right away? I’ve heard about slavemaker ants; the workers are so adapted for killing and raiding other ants that they can’t even feed themselves! :blink: As far as ants go, I’m not so much interested by a specific species as I am by the diversity of lifestyles the different species have developed, the slavemaker ants being one example.

I don’t remember when or where I first learned about antlions, but they’re yet another insect I’ve always found interesting. And I was never aware why the larvae are sometimes called doodlebugs until now! That’s hilarious to think about; a creature that is basically a miniature real-life version of the sarlacc from Star Wars has incidental artistic talents. What do you give the antlion for treats? (Did he develop a taste for sweets too as a result of living in that bowl of sugar? )

By the way, congratulations! You spelled both “anthropomorphizing” and “metamorphosis” correctly in your post!

[LBTDiclonius]

Wazzup! :

Okay, this is a pretty somple one but, why do you like bugs so much? I just find them to be really creepy. But why do you seem to like them so much? Considering the fact that your writing a story (It's awesome! by the way!) revolving around bugs. So, why exactly do you like them?

Another one, what's your favorite type of bug? You seem to have a lot of pet bugs, so I want to know, which type of bug do you like the best? Or do you like them all the same?

Those pictures of bugs you have are scary! I'd scream very loudly if I saw one hovering over my face. then I'd probably pass out. Those are my questions.

[FlipperBoidSkua]

I'm soooooo multi-tasking while writing this response! Whooooooooo!!!

It's not a problem! I know there's a lot in life to do and that this topic probably isn't high on your priority lists; I just feel honored that you have it on the list to begin with!!  

Once again, your post was far more comprehensive and informative than I had expected. In fact, it had a lot of information on those insects that I didn’t know. Thank you so much! (I’ve come up with a few new questions; keep an eye out for them in my response below.)

I like helping and, seeing the very helpful and descriptive replies you always give for me, you deserve to have a descriptive reply back!! Plus, I wanted to put down every bit of pet buggy info I knew in case you or anyone else might want to get bug-owning a shot!

That is so cool! I never knew mantises ate anything besides insects and other small animals! (Maybe they acquire a sweet tooth from eating pollinating insects with stomachs full of nectar.) The image for the flower mantis isn’t showing up, but I searched for a picture of the species online, and wow! I agree, that’s one awesome-looking mantis! I’ve been crazy about mantises for a long time; now your post has made me want to own one!

At first, I didn't know that either! Then when I just got done eating some jam-and-butter toast (mmmmmmm), I went to handle one of my Carolina mantis'. After a bit, I saw him leaning over while clinging to my arm; at first I thought he was about to bite and was ready for the 'Eep!' of pain. Then I noticed, 'Hey, nothing's hurting....Whaddup wit dat?'. Then I realized he was licking some little patch of jam residue from my arm (I'm a messy eater and clumsy at spreading jam, or butter for that matter). I was surprised at that, then became ambitious with spazziness and made offers of jam to my other mantids as an experiment to see if they'll try it or not. Turned out to be a big hit and I tried other sweet sticky stuff, most of which were met with equal success. Heck, it was an event worthy to be written in my journal! Your probably onto something with the theory of the sweet tooth developing from eating nectar-feeding insects as it certainly sounds reasonable to me!

Man, that image always goes out in particular, I don't know why. Oh well... And yeah, Aithne was gorgeous and was the most prized (and expensive) mantis I've owned (I still love you though, Twiggy!). She also had a good temperament (unlike one of my Chinese Mantises....), and became the first and only of my mantises brave enough to try one of my favorite syrups: lychee!!!! Anywho, I always loved mantis', I lovingly call them Ninja Bugs. In fact, that inspired a name for one of my Carolina mantis' (not the one that discovered the joys of sweets. His name was Churro), who was called......................Samurai. Surprisingly, lots of people never saw that coming  :   !! They're very good bug pets that you can actually take out for interaction without the fear of getting hurt for once!! Although they can bite if threatened enough, they rarely ever resort to that.

I think I first found out about them when I watched a nature documentary series on insects called Alien Empire when I was between eight and twelve; it took a less-than two-minute-long clip of a single tiger beetle stalking and tearing apart a moth for me to discover my new favorite bug.

Aw man, I wanna see that!! The only documentary I know who gave tiger beetles any credit was Animal Planet's The Most Extreme: Speed episode. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that tiger beetles got the #1 spot on the list, beating the cheetah and the peregrine falcon by a long shot (Apparently, if it was the size of a human, it can go more than 300mph!!! No wonder Jolt has problems!!   ).

By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of a Japanese tiger beetle before; it’s gorgeous! My reactions to your stories about your experiences with them were to the part about their jaws being able to draw blood, and to the part about Jolt.

I know, right! I'm sure he/she (and the majority of the other lost insects left behind) is probably deceased by now, and before we left for California, Bug Dude promised to send me the preserved exoskeleton of that beetle......I have yet to get it   ....

Yup, their bites= not fun, but like one zoologist said (I can't remember his name, Nigel something....) : "To a real biologist, every animal bite is seen as a badge of courage" or something like that... I definitely take that to heart everytime I'm bitten or clawed or something from my pets, or any other animal. About Jolt, he (I'm just gonna assume he's male! ) is the only beetle in that tank with a name and the second Named tiger beetle I had (the Japanese one was named Migoto for good reason). I have no distinguishing features to tell the beetles of the same species apart physically, though currently I am thinking of putting a drop of different colored paint to dry on the back of my current beetles' thorax, then they can finally have names for themselves! Only reason Jolt gets a name is because of his lovable klutz behavior. It's hard not to notice him in the crowd!

The stag beetle sounds like an awesome pet. It would be so neat to hold a giant beetle like that, especially getting to feel the lifting power of their jaws like you described. About how big would you say he was?

Counting the mandibles, Takeo was about the size to sit in the palm of my hand, maybe three inches long. Not bad for a bug!! He was a good pet (he enjoyed lychee syrup more than the mantids did, that's for sure *happily drinks some lychee syrup; I'm just crazy like that*!!) and I wouldn't hesitate to get another stag beetle if the opportunity is presented. I held good memories of him.

In fact, my most memorable moment with Takeo is when I told one of our friends' teen son, Demetri, about him and how the stag beetle qualifies as one of the strongest critters on the planet (beaten only by the rhino beetle). He was being sarcastic about it, so I asked if he wanted to 'wrestle' Takeo. He happily agreed and I got Takeo out onto the 'Fighting perch', which was basically our couch's arm-rest..... The whole human household came over to see this. After telling Demetri the 'rules' of beetle battle (pretend one of your hand's the beetle challenger, some fingers gripping the arm-rest and the other fingers trying to lift the opponent; first one to be lifted clean off the arm-rest loses!!), it began. As soon as hand-to-mandible contact was made with Demetri making the first move, Takeo easily lifted the rival hand off the arm-rest. This got a good laugh. Demetri claimed he wasn't ready and wanted to try again. But Takeo has lost interest and just stood there like he always does as Demetri's "attacking" fingers tried to get him off the arm-rest. But, lemme tell you, this beetle has strong sharp claws you can feel (it's very uncomfortable trying to pry him off you) and if he doesn't wanna move, he's not gonna move. Finally, Demetri just cheated and used his other hand to yank Takeo off the arm-rest. But still, beetle beats human. Classic. This ended up being a great story to talk about and Demetri gladly laughed along with it. He was a good friend.  

I recognized the wheel bug right away; I got to see some when I visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom in November. Didn’t know you could be allergic to them; I’ll remember that.

It's advice to be remembered very well; people has actually died from being bitten by assassins. Personally, the closest I got to a bite was from a tiny relative of the assassin (my closest guess was a kind of sheild bug) with a thin little beak  and that hurt enough as it was. I frequently compare that to the wheel bug's robust beak and larger size  :blink: . Judging from the very loud yell from my sister and the resulting phobia for this pet (she refuses to let me get another assassin bug to replace the one that did the actual biting *pouts*), I don't think I'd wanna get bitten myself....

That experiment you did with the slavemaker ants sounds fascinating! I’m amazed by how committed you were to the task; you actually dug up a nest of those ants for the queen?! Did you get a lot of bites and/or stings in the process? I’m also curious as to how you found and identified the wild slavemakers in the first place; did you know what they were right away?

Yes I did and yes, I got bitten many a time from both the slaves and the Amazons (if there's anything those slave-makers' mandibles are good for, it's biting and biting hard). I tend to get very commited to something I really, absolutely, positively want without an ounce of doubt, almost to the point of being single-minded about it.... Luckily, Amazons avoid ants that can sting, so I didn't have to go through that extra-pain. Thank goodness; I've been stung many times with my "reckless" (so my teachers put it : ) interactions with wasps, ants, and bees, but the pain never gets better. I'm just glad I'm not allergic or my ultimate bug dream will never be a reality...  But anyway, that 'avoiding-stinging-ants' fact wasn't much of a comfort when getting both the Amazon colony and of getting their potential slaves regularly for maintainance; while digging, I tried my best to ignore the pain before my body would automatically and suddenly jerk away for a moment to recover, only for me to go right on back to my mission like some suicidal honey badger!! I probably looked like an idiot to the other people nearby.  

Nah, I didn't know for certain what kind of ant they were on first sight. I just noticed them as generic ants in 'line formation' across the sidewalk on my way to school and I took a moment to see what they were up too, which wasn't really unusual for me to do. They were in the middle of a raid apparently as I saw the ants going in opposite directions and I noticed in general that the ones with pupae and stuff were going one way and the ones without them were going another. I decided to go see where the 'non-pupae' ones were going and eventually found the colony they were attacking and plundering. I remember my mind racing through what I learned on ants and it didn't take long for me to have a hunch. I suspected they were slave-makers, but I wasn't positive on that. I couldn't continue to observe more about this as I sped to school. During lunch (which I spend in the library regardless), I checked out every book I could about ants to specifically hunt for info for slave making *that was my single-mindedness coming out and I wasn't going to stop until I find out if those ants were what I thought they were *!!! One general book of insects in particular had an entire chapter dedicated to Amazon ants and I realized: The ants I found were a kind of slave-maker; the description and behavior matched perfectly!! I immediately got hooked to the concept of ants enslaving other ants and it reached obsession mode fast! I researched everything and read anything that had to do with slave-makers (the fiction book Empire of the Ants had a good scene with slave-makers attacking one of the main character's colony). I watched that Amazon colony every time I caught them on a raid across the sidewalk. Eventually, the idea sprouted: "Hey, you have lots of bug pets and have ant-farm experience... What's stopping you from getting these Amazons to join the family?!" I just couldn't resist the opportunity!!

I don’t remember when or where I first learned about antlions, but they’re yet another insect I’ve always found interesting. And I was never aware why the larvae are sometimes called doodlebugs until now! That’s hilarious to think about; a creature that is basically a miniature real-life version of the sarlacc from Star Wars has incidental artistic talents. What do you give the antlion for treats? (Did he develop a taste for sweets too as a result of living in that bowl of sugar? )

  My sister frequently says how the bug should open his own museum and my mom teasingly says how the antlion draws better than I do! I don't think I'll argue!!

I couldn't give him human food as treats due to his method of feeding (draining the body through hollow mandibles and throwing out the body; I for once can't think of a human treat to fit that need very well) and his tiny size. His version of treats: earwigs, spiders, and the like. Big enough for a feast!  I always imagine him to be very happy with that.

Oh! You heard that scientists discovered that doodlebugs make bigger and deeper hunting pits during the full moon? And I saw that when there is a full moon, my antlion really does make his pits larger than usual! I wonder why they do this or how this little indoor bug who's subjected with unnatural lighting to mess with his bio clock knew when a full moon would be out...

By the way, congratulations! You spelled both “anthropomorphizing” and “metamorphosis” correctly in your post!

Yayz!! And that's without a dictionary!! Wo0t!!!!!!! I say we celebrate by drinking milk of the chocolate variety!

Wazzup!

Okay, this is a pretty somple one but, why do you like bugs so much? I just find them to be really creepy. But why do you seem to like them so much? Considering the fact that your writing a story (It's awesome! by the way!) revolving around bugs. So, why exactly do you like them?

Another one, what's your favorite type of bug? You seem to have a lot of pet bugs, so I want to know, which type of bug do you like the best? Or do you like them all the same?

Those pictures of bugs you have are scary! I'd scream very loudly if I saw one hovering over my face. then I'd probably pass out. Those are my questions.

WAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPP!!!!!!! :

Thank you for the story compliment!! Now, for the evilness that is the  unnecessarily long response....

Not just "a" story....... I have tons of stories for insects! Practically all my work (fanfiction or not) have to do with animals in some way, shape, or form. My original stories, lots and lots of them are for insects in particular!!

Favorite bugs are hard to pick, but if I have to go for my top three, it'll be the mantids, the tiger beetles, and the Japanese Giant Hornet. In no particular order, of course!! Robberflies, Amazon ants, antlions, and assassin bugs are close to that list as well!! Notice most of these I've kept as pets!! They were pets for a reason   !!!

The scary photos? You mean the creepy tiger beetle close-up where it looks like it's about to tear you apart and eat you? How's that scary? Honestly, yeah, that's quite a spooky picture even for me.

Why do I like buggies? They're just so different and unique. They're amongst the oldest creatures on the planet and are still thriving. They're natural survivors that will no doubt continue to live on well after man-kind's gone and extinct (our extinction's inevitable, people; we're not immune to it!). I find their lifestyles very similar to the other animals we're used to, just on a smaller scale! And something about their general insect body design, I just love it! Doesn't help that A Bug's Life and The Ant Bully are a couple of my fav movies. But I think it's my history with them that helped the most.

I quite practically grew up with bugs, but not as pets. When I was very young, we lived in our grandparents house that was infested by none other than......cockroaches. So I was already used to the 'grossest of the gross' bugs early on and I have no fear or disgust of them because of it. I have memories of being the only kid in my class to pet and hold a Madagascan hissing cockroach and I once watched the progress of a tiny nest of yellowjackets under a step of our slide (that is, until dad got rid of them...).

The most hostile action I took against them was when mom gave me the job of killing the flies that entered our house. I quickly discovered that I was very good at that and then it became something like a sport. The 'malice' wasn't personal to bugs at all; I just thought it was 'good' to chase down the buggers, kill them, and win mom's praise for it. That changed when I swatted one particular fly and it fell in the sink full of water. I watched it struggle for a moment and began to feel incredibly sorry for it and the misfortune I put it in. I dunno why, but seeing it struggle for life like that tugged my heartstrings and I scooped it out of the water. I took it back outside into the sun where it dried and groomed itself on my hand before flying off. I guess that was the event that sparked my true love for bugs. It started with just reading about flies in general to learn more about the little buggie I saved from drowning, then other bugs began to interest me as I flipped through the books. And it dawned on me: I never fully appreciated bugs for what they are.

And now, years later, I'm planning to major in entomology, have written many stories of bug OCs, has kept and is still keeping them as pets, and watching them in the wild for the relaxing fun of it.

I think it's too late for me to dislike/fear bugs. :^.^:

*checks time* Wow!! :blink: I spent hours typing this post.......AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! *falls asleep instantly and randomly!*

[Pangaea]

It's not a problem! I know there's a lot in life to do and that this topic probably isn't high on your priority lists; I just feel honored that you have it on the list to begin with!!

I like helping and, seeing the very helpful and descriptive replies you always give for me, you deserve to have a descriptive reply back!! Plus, I wanted to put down every bit of pet buggy info I knew in case you or anyone else might want to get bug-owning a shot!

Thank you for being so understanding. And I want you to know how much I appreciate the time, effort, consideration, and detail you put into your posts.

I think I first found out about them when I watched a nature documentary series on insects called Alien Empire when I was between eight and twelve; it took a less-than two-minute-long clip of a single tiger beetle stalking and tearing apart a moth for me to discover my new favorite bug.

Aw man, I wanna see that!! The only documentary I know who gave tiger beetles any credit was Animal Planet's The Most Extreme: Speed episode. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that tiger beetles got the #1 spot on the list, beating the cheetah and the peregrine falcon by a long shot (Apparently, if it was the size of a human, it can go more than 300mph!!! No wonder Jolt has problems!!   ).

I'd sure like to help you with that. It's definitely one of the best insect documentaries I've ever seen, and I think you'd really enjoy it. I checked YouTube to see if anyone had uploaded the series, but the only part I could find that was in English was a five-minute segment on ant agriculture. (Makes me wish I knew how to convert and upload video. <_<) There are a few used VHS copies on Amazon.com, but obviously you'd need a VCR to watch them.

I don't think it had anything on tiger beetles, but another insect-themed documentary I'd highly recommend is Life in the Undergrowth with David Attenborough (pretty much anything by him is outstanding); it has some of the most spectacular camera work you've ever seen of insects close up (exactly the kind of photography you were raving about in your post). The series Life (one version of which is also narrated by Attenborough) also has an excellent episode on insects, with one particularly memorable segment on Darwin's beetles (pretty much the most souped-up-looking stag beetles you could imagine; their jaws are literally longer than their bodies! :blink:) battling at the top of a tree over a mate. I know that Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel aired shortened versions of both of these series, so there's a chance you've already seen them, but I should tell you that if you can afford it, it's well worth it to buy the full series on DVD or Blu-ray.

Yup, their bites= not fun, but like one zoologist said (I can't remember his name, Nigel something....) : "To a real biologist, every animal bite is seen as a badge of courage" or something like that... I definitely take that to heart everytime I'm bitten or clawed or something from my pets, or any other animal.

I believe Nigel Marven is the zoologist you're talking about. And this talk of animal bites gave me an idea for a new question (a bit of an odd one, I'll admit): what would you say is the worst bite or other injury you've ever received from an animal? (By that I mean the worst single injury, as opposed to, say, your worst run-in with a beehive or anthill in which you were stung/bitten the most times.)

About Jolt, he (I'm just gonna assume he's male! ) is the only beetle in that tank with a name and the second Named tiger beetle I had (the Japanese one was named Migoto for good reason). I have no distinguishing features to tell the beetles of the same species apart physically, though currently I am thinking of putting a drop of different colored paint to dry on the back of my current beetles' thorax, then they can finally have names for themselves!

I did something similar to that in my last year of college, when Vertebrate/Invertebrate Biology professor had a tank of four crayfish that we wanted to be able to tell apart; I painted their each of their carapaces with a differently colored spot of non-toxic waterproof nail polish, the advantage of which was that it would neither hurt the crayfish nor wash off (provided it was allowed to dry first). I of course got pinched several times, but I didn't mind. That would probably be a good option for your tiger beetles, too (I’m sure their safety and well-being is your foremost concern).

The stag beetle sounds like an awesome pet. It would be so neat to hold a giant beetle like that, especially getting to feel the lifting power of their jaws like you described. About how big would you say he was?

Counting the mandibles, Takeo was about the size to sit in the palm of my hand, maybe three inches long. Not bad for a bug!! He was a good pet (he enjoyed lychee syrup more than the mantids did, that's for sure *happily drinks some lychee syrup; I'm just crazy like that*!!) and I wouldn't hesitate to get another stag beetle if the opportunity is presented. I held good memories of him.

Well, that's it, then. Stag beetles are now also on the list of critters I'd like to own given the opportunity.

I tried my best to ignore the pain before my body would automatically and suddenly jerk away for a moment to recover, only for me to go right on back to my mission like some suicidal honey badger!!

I love that analogy! Again I admire your devotion to the job of caring for the slavemaker ants. I’m also impressed by your story of how you identified them in the first place. Observation, research, fieldwork, experimentation, dedication…sounds like you’ve got all the skills to be a scientist. You’d definitely make a good entomologist.

 

Oh! You heard that scientists discovered that doodlebugs make bigger and deeper hunting pits during the full moon? And I saw that when there is a full moon, my antlion really does make his pits larger than usual! I wonder why they do this or how this little indoor bug who's subjected with unnatural lighting to mess with his bio clock knew when a full moon would be out...

I hadn’t heard about that… Not sure why that would be; perhaps some of the insects they feed on are more active during the full moon?

I don’t remember when or where I first learned about antlions, but they’re yet another insect I’ve always found interesting. And I was never aware why the larvae are sometimes called doodlebugs until now! That’s hilarious to think about; a creature that is basically a miniature real-life version of the sarlacc from Star Wars has incidental artistic talents. What do you give the antlion for treats? (Did he develop a taste for sweets too as a result of living in that bowl of sugar? )

My sister frequently says how the bug should open his own museum and my mom teasingly says how the antlion draws better than I do! I don't think I'll argue!!

Okay, that I don’t find funny. <_< Granted, I haven’t seen your antlion’s “artwork”, but as far as I’m concerned, his doodles and your drawings can’t be compared in terms of artistic quality, because they’re completely separate kinds of artwork, regardless of whether you anthropomorphize or not. Your antlion’s “doodles” (which areómore likely than notócomparable to a bird’s song or a flower’s aroma in being aesthetically pleasing to the human senses, but not intended by nature for that purpose) would probably be considered abstract artwork; your specialty is character artwork. Different artists, different styles, different skills. I think it’s fair to consider you both great artists in your own ways. :

Speaking of artwork, I finally got around to reviewing the latest picture in your LBT fanart thread, in case you hadn't noticed already.

[Amaranthine]

Hi, how are things?

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Thank you for being so understanding.  And I want you to know how much I appreciate the time, effort, consideration, and detail you put into your posts.

Your welcome!! Posting replies is fun!! And it feel good to know that the posts are actually read in their entirety!! So thank you for reading!!  

I believe Nigel Marven is the zoologist you're talking about.  And this talk of animal bites gave me an idea for a new question (a bit of an odd one, I'll admit): what would you say is the worst bite or other injury you've ever received from an animal? (By that I mean the worst single injury, as opposed to, say, your worst run-in with a beehive or anthill in which you were stung/bitten the most times.)

There ya go!! I always had a hard time remembering folks by name, especially the last names. I dunno, it's just a brain quirk or something ^^!!

Hmmmm, worst bite.......... The bites of the tiger beetles have a hefty spot for the worst bites, for sure. And I've been nipped and nabbed and mouthed on by many of our pets. Terror's bitten me once and it bled, but it wasn't too bad. The hardest play-bite from Spazz hurt, but didn't break the skin. Justin and Fluffy had great inhibited bites that didn't hurt much at all. So did the gliders and the rodents. But I think the worst I've gotten was from my friend's huge lop-earred bunny. It was hardly tamed, they kept it in a cage practically all day with no training and minimal interaction. But when my family paid a visit, one of the kids wanted to show us the bunny and dragged it out, insisting that I hold it. I did, about to put it back into its cage cuz it looked freaked out by all the attention and I don't like it when animals feel scared. It gave me a good bite and didn't let go until I put it back in the cage. It hurt a lot, I had to resist the very strong instinct to drop the bunny; it's teeth drew blood, and it was a naturally larger and harder bite than those I was used to. But compared to my sister, I have very few experiences of serious bites from larger animals. I'm not sure if I want that to change or not

I did something similar to that in my last year of college, when Vertebrate/Invertebrate Biology professor had a tank of four crayfish that we wanted to be able to tell apart; I painted their each of their carapaces with a differently colored spot of non-toxic waterproof nail polish, the advantage of which was that it would neither hurt the crayfish nor wash off (provided it was allowed to dry first). I of course got pinched several times,  but I didn't mind. That would probably be a good option for your tiger beetles, too (I’m sure their safety and well-being is your foremost concern).

Nail polish, Hmmmm......that's certainly more accessible than paint.  :! I'm think I'm gonna do it with that instead; I'm tired of waiting for us to go to some place that would have paint. Thanks for the idea!!!   I'll probably have it done tonight when my mom's home so I can have her permission (unlike most girls, I care not for the polish and the make-up and the.....eh....to actually have my own set). And yeah, I have no doubt I'll be bitten by them and I'm ready for it!! And most certainly their safety will by priority during the process! I certainly feel that they need just as much care and respect as I would give my ratties; being bugs certainly shouldn't mean they deserve to be treated worse than my vertebrate pets!!

Well, that's it, then. Stag beetles are now also on the list of critters I'd like to own given the opportunity.

They're very satisfying bugs to own!!

I love that analogy!  Again I admire your devotion to the job of caring for the slavemaker ants. I’m also impressed by your story of how you identified them in the first place. Observation, research, fieldwork, experimentation, dedication…sounds like you’ve got all the skills to be a scientist.  You’d definitely make a good entomologist.

*glittery eyed!!* That.....That's one of the nicest things someone's ever said to me.... Thanks!! *hugs*

Okay, that I don’t find funny.  Granted, I haven’t seen your antlion’s “artwork”, but as far as I’m concerned, his doodles and your drawings can’t be compared in terms of artistic quality, because they’re completely separate kinds of artwork, regardless of whether you anthropomorphize or not. Your antlion’s “doodles” (which areómore likely than notócomparable to a bird’s song or a flower’s aroma in being aesthetically pleasing to the human senses, but not intended by nature for that purpose) would probably be considered abstract artwork; your specialty is character artwork. Different artists, different styles, different skills. I think it’s fair to consider you both great artists in your own ways.

  That makes perfect sense!! And thank you for not insulting my antlion's doodles either.   Intentional or not, they should still be appreciated. And you certainly have a way of making me feel good about my art. I'm giving ya a lot of hugs today!! *hugz!!*

Hi, how are things?

Both bad and good. My mom and I had an arguement yesterday and it was pretty bad; made me cry and put me in a bad mood almost all day. Caramel's still showing signs of aging and I've been trying to make her more comfortable, with Domino trying to help. But my little ratty's holding on and that helped in improving my mood considerably.   Currently, she's napping on the pillow beside me while Domino's exploring the room.

[Pangaea]

There ya go!! I always had a hard time remembering folks by name, especially the last names. I dunno, it's just a brain quirk or something ^^!!

I have a hard time remembering the names of people I meet in real life (classmates, for instance), unless I know them really well and/or interact with them regularly. I have an easier time memorizing the names of people who I see a lot on TV or in movies. And yet I can memorize things like Razanandrongobe sakalavae “humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apua'a”, Propalaeohoplophorus septentrionalis, and “Pedalternorotandomovens Centroculatus Articulosus” with relatively little difficulty. :

Hmmmm, worst bite.......... The bites of the tiger beetles have a hefty spot for the worst bites, for sure. And I've been nipped and nabbed and mouthed on by many of our pets. Terror's bitten me once and it bled, but it wasn't too bad. The hardest play-bite from Spazz hurt, but didn't break the skin. Justin and Fluffy had great inhibited bites that didn't hurt much at all. So did the gliders and the rodents. But I think the worst I've gotten was from my friend's huge lop-earred bunny. It was hardly tamed, they kept it in a cage practically all day with no training and minimal interaction. But when my family paid a visit, one of the kids wanted to show us the bunny and dragged it out, insisting that I hold it. I did, about to put it back into its cage cuz it looked freaked out by all the attention and I don't like it when animals feel scared. It gave me a good bite and didn't let go until I put it back in the cage. It hurt a lot, I had to resist the very strong instinct to drop the bunny; it's teeth drew blood, and it was a naturally larger and harder bite than those I was used to.

Ah, yes…beware the bite of the bunny…they shouldn't be underestimated. :blink:

But compared to my sister, I have very few experiences of serious bites from larger animals.

Wow…besides the assassin bug bite, what has she gone through?

I love that analogy! Again I admire your devotion to the job of caring for the slavemaker ants. I’m also impressed by your story of how you identified them in the first place. Observation, research, fieldwork, experimentation, dedication…sounds like you’ve got all the skills to be a scientist. You’d definitely make a good entomologist.

*glittery eyed!!* That.....That's one of the nicest things someone's ever said to me.... Thanks!! *hugs*

You're welcome. I really do think that. *hugs back*

And thank you for not insulting my antlion's doodles either. Intentional or not, they should still be appreciated. And you certainly have a way of making me feel good about my art. I'm giving ya a lot of hugs today!! *hugz!!*

Again, you're very welcome (on both accounts). *and again, hugz back*

EDIT: I almost forgot: if you haven't already marked the tiger beetles, you could save yourself some biting by marking just four of them; the fifth would be identifiable because he/she has no mark. (Tiger beetles don't continue to molt as adults, do they?) As an added benefit you'll have one tiger beetle whose natural colors are still visible in their entirety.

[FlipperBoidSkua]

I have a hard time remembering the names of people I meet in real life (classmates, for instance), unless I know them really well and/or interact with them regularly. I have an easier time memorizing the names of people who I see a lot on TV or in movies.

I'm horrible at remembering the names of both real life people and tv people. Yet, I can easily remember the names of all my pets and all my plush toys. Weird how that works. Yours is even more astounding!! All those especially long scientific names!! Awesome!! The most successful time I could pronounce difficult names was in third or fourth grade and I fluently read the words Parasaurolophus and Micropachycephalosaurus from a book. My teacher was amazed

Ah, yes…beware the bite of the bunny…they shouldn't be underestimated.

No, they should not!! Cute things can bite, people!!

Wow…besides the assassin bug bite, what has she gone through?

She's been slashed and bitten by several cats, attacked at least four times by dogs, been chased and bitten by a canada goose, a swan, a turkey, and a rooster, been bitten by a friend's African Grey Parrot, bitten by a guinea pig, and bitten by a classroom boa constrictor. She's been stung by a bee and a few yellowjackets and has countless bites from ants (I feel her pain there!). And that ain't even counting our pets, which adds quite a few more bites to the list. Spazz bit her a few times before learning the art of inhibited bites, Fudge bit her when she was trying to give him a bath (I told her countless times to NEVER bathe a chinchilla, so she had that one coming to her), Terror bit her, Marble bit her (again, I told her NEVER to pick a rat up by the tail, but again she didn't listen), the tiger beetles bit her, the assassin bug bit her, Fluffy bit her, etc etc. My sister's like an attack-magnet for animals. I feel sorry for her. I'm just surprise she still keeps it together around animals.

I almost forgot: if you haven't already marked the tiger beetles, you could save yourself some biting by marking just four of them; the fifth would be identifiable because he/she has no mark. (Tiger beetles don't continue to molt as adults, do they?) As an added benefit you'll have one tiger beetle whose natural colors are still visible in their entirety.

Wow, I read this in time then!   You saved me from an extra bite!! I'm about to give the beetles their honorary names and identities after posting this!! I'm so excited!!! Squee!! And nah, they don't molt as adults (thank goodness, or I'll be doing this a lot!). It's all done when they're larvae!! :^.^:  I already got the colors ready and the names to go with them. Here's what I got:

Blue- This will be named Speedy
Red- This one.... Blur
Gold- This be Dart!!
Black- This one shall be named Snail (an ironic name for such a fast critter!!)
And Jolt shall be the special one without paint and in all his natural beauty!!

[Pangaea]

I'm horrible at remembering the names of both real life people and tv people. Yet, I can easily remember the names of all my pets and all my plush toys. Weird how that works. Yours is even more astounding!! All those especially long scientific names!! Awesome!!

Well, technically only two of those examples were scientific names (a Jurassic archosaur and a glyptodont, respectively). The humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apua'a is the Hawaiian name for the reef triggerfish (genus Rhinecanthus) (I first read it in an alphabet book of sea creatures as a little kid and loved the name so much that I've remembered it ever since), and the Pedalternorotandomovens Centroculatus Articulosus (also called the “Rolpens”, “Wentelteefje”, or “Curl-Up” ) is a fictional creature created by M.C. Escher to inhabit the worlds in his artwork.

She's been slashed and bitten by several cats, attacked at least four times by dogs, been chased and bitten by a canada goose, a swan, a turkey, and a rooster, been bitten by a friend's African Grey Parrot, bitten by a guinea pig, and bitten by a classroom boa constrictor. She's been stung by a bee and a few yellowjackets and has countless bites from ants (I feel her pain there!). And that ain't even counting our pets, which adds quite a few more bites to the list. Spazz bit her a few times before learning the art of inhibited bites, Fudge bit her when she was trying to give him a bath (I told her countless times to NEVER bathe a chinchilla, so she had that one coming to her), Terror bit her, Marble bit her (again, I told her NEVER to pick a rat up by the tail, but again she didn't listen), the tiger beetles bit her, the assassin bug bit her, Fluffy bit her, etc etc. My sister's like an attack-magnet for animals. I feel sorry for her. I'm just surprise she still keeps it together around animals.

Ouch, ouch, ouch, and more ouch. :blink: I sympathize as well.

I almost forgot: if you haven't already marked the tiger beetles, you could save yourself some biting by marking just four of them; the fifth would be identifiable because he/she has no mark. (Tiger beetles don't continue to molt as adults, do they?) As an added benefit you'll have one tiger beetle whose natural colors are still visible in their entirety.

Wow, I read this in time then!   You saved me from an extra bite!! I'm about to give the beetles their honorary names and identities after posting this!! I'm so excited!!! Squee!! And nah, they don't molt as adults (thank goodness, or I'll be doing this a lot!). It's all done when they're larvae!! :^.^:  I already got the colors ready and the names to go with them. Here's what I got:

Blue- This will be named Speedy
Red- This one.... Blur
Gold- This be Dart!!
Black- This one shall be named Snail (an ironic name for such a fast critter!!)
And Jolt shall be the special one without paint and in all his natural beauty!!

Great!

New question: Have you ever tried to design your own far-future descendents of modern species, like the creatures in The Future is Wild?

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Kinda!! I have two of them, to be specific!!

One's a kind of ocean flish that lives like an albatross, complete with very long narrow wings for fast long-distance gliding!! The second is a flightless, nocturnal flutterbird (I call it a Kiwer bird!!) that eats small bugs and fruit that fell from trees during the day.

[Pangaea]

Cool! Have you ever drawn them?

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Yes, I have two old drawings for both of them!! They aren't inked or colored though. I can probably submit them later to my Future is Wild fanart thread if your interested!