Friday, December 30, 2005

These bugs are good for something


Every winter we end up with a few of these Asian beetles flying around the house. No matter how many I suck up with the Shop Vac, there are always more. They are kind of a nuisance; they have a habit of drowning themselves in my water glass at night, and they don't taste very good. But the other day I noticed this one apparently feasting on the bugs (aphids maybe?) that infest this poor bedraggled spiderplant. That plant may live despite my best efforts at neglect!

Really I just took this photo to test the macro capabilities of my camera. I am not disappointed! By the way, The Hermit (aka Mr. Analog Kodachrome) is so impressed with digital photography that he ordered his own digital camera on eBay last night. Always having to outdo me, he went for one with 10x optical zoom, at only slightly greater cost. By the way, Hermit, Merry Christmas, I guess that saved me a trip to the store to buy you a present! Sorry it's a bit late.

7 comments:

dharma bum said...

Nice shot! That's cool about the asian beetles. It was my understanding that they were originally imported to the U.S. to do exactly that: feast on aphids. It's just that ladybuys do the same thing, but not quite so voraciously. Then, the damn things got loose and now they're everywhere. Supposedly they bite, too, but I've never been bitten.

Happy New Year!

R.Powers said...

This may be an exotic that we actually don't have...at least I have never seen them.
Bugs in your water...ugh!

robin andrea said...

I don't think we have those beetles here either. I'm usually pretty glad when something comes along and eats the aphids on our houseplants, but really don't like finding bugs in my water glass.

I think you're really going to like the 10X optical zoom. It is fantastic. What does Mr. Hermit like to photograph?

Madcap said...

We don't have those beetles here. I've never seen one before, anyway. Of course, I'm not the most observant person in the world , so it might have slipped under my radar. I'll look it up.

Chive's been looking through some of your pictures, and he's pretty impressed with your mandolin, too.

Deb said...

dharma bum- I've never been bitten either. Thanks for the New Years wishes, same to you!

FC and RD- you're lucky you don't have these. They've been around Minnesota for probably 8 years or so. This year they weren't as bad as usual; maybe something is starting to control them.

Yes, I'M going to enjoy the 10x. It's only natural for someone who likes bird watching. Hermit and I pretty much take the same kinds of photos. I sense some friendly photo rivalry is in the making now with him; he's talking about getting his own blog!

Deb said...

madcap-If you had these bugs, you'd know it, they aren't the type to slip under anyone's radar!

Chive maybe would not be so impressed if he actually heard me playing it...;)

Anonymous said...

Nice digital shot. It is a sharp picutre
about the beetle not lettin go of your plant. But lady bugs are part of the cycle of nature. They live on plants. I guess no matter what you do, it just keeps on coming back.