Bug Zoo

Today Ben's class was having a Bug Zoo - all the kids were supposed to bring a bug in a jar for the class to look at and then set free. So yesterday afternoon I wandered around outside in search of a bug. I checked the sidewalk, the tree trunks in our yard - nothing. It's amazing how few bugs you see when you are actually looking for one.

Finally I spotted a lizard on one of the front porch columns. I figured he must know where the good bugs are. So I watched him for a little while and lo and behold a little black and red beetle wandered by. I corraled him into a container before the lizard could eat him for lunch, and Ben brought him to school this morning.

On the way across the parking lot of his school Ben spotted a caterpillar, so I scooped it up and took it inside with us. I figured it would get run over in the parking lot, and the more the merrier for the bug zoo, right? Well, you would have thought I'd brought a poisonous snake inside the school from some of the looks and squeals I got from both staff and parents. However, Ben's teacher was appreciative of the extra bug and found an extra container for him, and Ben lorded it over the other kids - "I brought TWO bugs for bug zoo!"