These insects are near and dear to me, for many reasons. Mostly because they DO look at you when you look at them, and there is something about that alien face that scares the heck out of most people.

And now for some bug history: You see, I am bug girl, always have been and always will be. When I was little I would read about a beetle or spider and the next day find it and keep it for a while in a jar for observation, eventually letting it go. When I was in the 2nd grade, I caught a praying mantis. It even made a trip to school. I brought it home and I tried to grab it out of the “bug ball” to release it when it reached back and grabbed a hold of my finger, NEVER to let go. Mom got it off, (sorry mantis, I never meant to hurt you!) and it was the last time I took a bug for granted.

Recently my nephew has discovered them, his Dad finds huge ones where he works during the summer and brings them home. My nephew wanted to pick it up, so my Sister told him to call me and ask about the “big green bug that pinched me.” Hopefully he learned from my story. He named the mantis Ricka in my honor, then let it go in the garden.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 9th, 2006 at 8:26 pm and is filed under Artwork, Illustration Friday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.