Insects Galore

Welcome to one of my stranger hobbies. I collect bugs. Yeah, yeah, I know "gross" right? Or maybe you're asking yourself if this blog is actually run by a nine year old boy (I assure you it's not!). I can't help myself, I think insects of all kinds are kind of fascinating, and totally beautiful. Except earwigs. I draw the line at earwigs. I like seeing those from a distance. Behind shatterproof glass. While wearing a bio-hazard suit. Ahem.

 I don't have very many bugs in my collection right now, but I'm always adding to it. So far only two of them have found their way into display jars, but I'm hoping to get them all set up as soon as I can. I never kill them, only collect insects I find already dead so it's slow going. I've had my eye out for a dragonfly for a long while, figuring it was only a matter of time before I found one considering the fact that we have hundreds buzzing around on any given day in the spring, and sure enough I came across a beautiful one a couple weeks ago. I have yet to display him (her? I don't know how to identify them) properly. I can't decide If I'd like to pin or preserve in a jar yet... Oh well, enough rambling on about this, see for yourself:

Okay, okay, it's another obsession...

 I've gotten into the bad habit of bringing nature indoors. I have (what is beginning to become "far too many") pressed plants laying about that I haven't gotten around to storing or displaying yet. My mum, who does not appreciate my bug obsession, has even gotten into it a bit, bringing in butterflies and wings when she finds them while walking the dog. Sometimes I think she has better luck than I do in her finds! I have a feeling this is one hobby The Boyfriend isn't going to be too impressed with, haha

The tinier the better!

I think mushrooms are pretty interesting too. I've been experimenting with different ways to save them.

Petals from my mum's Easter Tulips and a trillium I found slightly squished into the ground

Don't be fooled by the flower petals masking the nature of the contents, that container houses a couple lady bugs, a beetle, and a bunch of wasps all waiting to be jarred.

Paint on my hands? What paint on my hands? Shh, focus on the pretty stuff

Edgar and Ethan with a shell. Yes I name my bugs. This just got a whole lot weirder didn't it?

One good thing that has come of this, other than having pretty bugs on display of course, is that the more I research different insects and attempt to learn about ones I find, the less afraid of creepy-crawlies I am in general. Once they pass a certain size though, all bets are still off. I'll be hightailing it out of there (in my imaginary biohazard suit and shatterproof human-size hamster ball) as fast as I can go.

 I don't have my sand collection set up, but I like to take a tiny bit of sand from beaches that I visit. I'm trying to think of a good way to display it along with shells and rocks I've hung on to. I'm thinking of shadow boxing things based on where I picked them up...but that's a post for another day. For now, if you are willing to, please save me dead bugs! Wow that sounds odd, even to me haha. 

Stay Scary,
Berlyn