It's morning. Once again we are in Flagstaff sleeping in Megan's living room. All night long cars go by on the highway. It sounds like the surf when I'm sleeping, but now that I'm awake I think the entire world drives past Megan's house in the night. And it's cold. I'm wearing my Mexican dress, a sweatshirt and high heeled flip-flops, plus goose bumps.
Last night we drove down the highway to the rest stop and collected dynastes granti. Unfortunately we took a styrofoam cup, collected seven big males and one female, and before we knew it the males used their horns to cut out the bottom of the cup as neatly as a can opener. We dropped the first cup into a second cup and then I played tug of war with the cups while Megan drove. Beetles pushed the cup up, I pushed it down. Beetles tried to sneak around the sides and out, I tried to intercept them.
Does this sound like an unbelieveable easy task??? First granti are big--7 to 8 centimeters long. (The biggest beatle in North America, excluding Mexico)
Second they have two forward facing horns like pinchers or pliers--One kept clamping onto Megan's fingers before she could deposit him with me. (I have seen their larger, South American cousins crush a coke can with their horns.)
Third, like all insects they have six legs, and their little tarsi are sharp and made for clinging tightly to the sides of trees, telephone poles, and in this case my fingers.
And finally I was sitting in a small car, in the dark, with a dog watching my every move with intense curiousity.
When we finally got back to the apartment we dumped out the cups and discovered that 2 beetles had gone missing. Megan will have to find them in her car this morning.
A good time was had by all, I'm jumping back into the covers. I think Flagstaff must be part of Alaska.
Last night we drove down the highway to the rest stop and collected dynastes granti. Unfortunately we took a styrofoam cup, collected seven big males and one female, and before we knew it the males used their horns to cut out the bottom of the cup as neatly as a can opener. We dropped the first cup into a second cup and then I played tug of war with the cups while Megan drove. Beetles pushed the cup up, I pushed it down. Beetles tried to sneak around the sides and out, I tried to intercept them.
Does this sound like an unbelieveable easy task??? First granti are big--7 to 8 centimeters long. (The biggest beatle in North America, excluding Mexico)
Second they have two forward facing horns like pinchers or pliers--One kept clamping onto Megan's fingers before she could deposit him with me. (I have seen their larger, South American cousins crush a coke can with their horns.)
Third, like all insects they have six legs, and their little tarsi are sharp and made for clinging tightly to the sides of trees, telephone poles, and in this case my fingers.
And finally I was sitting in a small car, in the dark, with a dog watching my every move with intense curiousity.
When we finally got back to the apartment we dumped out the cups and discovered that 2 beetles had gone missing. Megan will have to find them in her car this morning.
A good time was had by all, I'm jumping back into the covers. I think Flagstaff must be part of Alaska.
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