nature collecting

OK you know about that time i talked about making homes of

the bugs you catch?

I know now you might be wondering where on earth can I catch bugs in the first place?

well, your neighbourhood is a good start.

look around trees and tap around on the bark.

any animals hiding there will move away then you will know where they are.

you can look among the roots and the grasses around the tree too.

however if you want a place where there is always an abundance

of insects, you can go to the upper Serangoon river (in Singapore)

whenever I go there, I can guarantee that by the time it is time for you to go home,

you will have seen at least 3 different species of bugs.

spiders are very common there, so are ants.

if you walk in the grass field near it,

you will be able to see flying bugs here and there.

they are actually moths and grasshoppers.

if you look carefully, you may find a stink bug or

an assassin bug.

flies and mosquitoes are always there so bring some insect repellent.

don't try to climb over the fence to go near the water.

I know there are fish but I heard there are snakes there too.

the path is frequently used by cyclists and joggers, it is very long.

normally i just walk half the length but if you are not

too tired, you might want to walk the full length.

well, I will post some pictures I took there in one of the upcoming posts,

but I think I'll stop for now.

ok you know about my cousin, the insect collector?

you can visit his Blog. he has collected over 30 species of bugs

(most of them are spiders)

he told me he created a blog and will send me the address later.

so maybe you can visit his blog.

he specialises in spiders and he can memorise all their

scientific names... so, yeah. well if you want to know his name,

he is Jordan Ang, 10 years old.

well you can try to search that on the internet.

if you are lucky... you might find him.

golden orb weaver
jumping spider

death watch beetle

insects

ok remember on my last post i said i was gonna talk about my bugs?

well here they are.

1) the death watch beetle.(xestobium rufovillosum)

it knocks on wood to attract a mate and it can be heard

in the rafters of old buildings.

those who hears it might not know what is causing it

and so, they become superstitious will

think it is a sign of impending death.

( i keep it in a container ... the one which i posted the last time...

it is really cute (in my opinions) and fun to have around.

i feed it a bit of sugar every two days.)

2) the jumping spider.(salticidae)

it contains about 5000 different species.

they are among the most intelligent spiders and members of this family

are even capable of problem solving.

they are also found all over the world except the north and south poles.

( they are my favourite creatures. my cousin loves to put males together

and see them fight. he throws in a fly or small cockroach to feed them.

and he also breeds them. sadly, one of my best spiders has died.)

3)golden orb weaver (nephila)

these spiders build the largest and strongest of all known webs

these are capable of catching even small birds.

they are found in tropical regions and local tribes use their

webs as fishing nets

( my cousin caught one and it measured about 4-5cm

but he does not know what it eats. so he released it.)

well thats all for now. i will be putting in the pictures for these 3 and i will be

telling you more about my insects in the next few posts!

nature collecting

OK, recently I have been looking up on insects and other small creatures

especially spiders. most of them i caught were jumping spiders.

finding containers are easy. a pudding container will do.

just remember to poke holes in the top so the creature you caught can breathe.

if you want to make it feel more 'at home'...

take an empty peanut butter jar and use a pin to poke holes either on

the top or the sides(near the top).

cover the bottom with soil.

plant grass or other plants which will fit inside

(of course, this will take longer,if you wish to uproot plants and plant them,

it is also OK.)

wet the soil.

if there is a bit of space left... put a

stone and some pebbles.

put your creature in.

(you can make other versions if you like... it depends on what creature you catch.)

well i have made one.

i will tell you more about my creatures on the next post.