Monday, August 13, 2018

Beetle saga continues

Okay. You may not believe this. I almost don't. But it's all true. You see, I have reason to believe that my Lazarus 3 beetle is actually Lazarus 2. And I think I might need to rename him Knieval because he just may have a death wish. 

If you'll recall, I've fished out two Texas ironclad beetles (Zopherus nodulosus haldemani) from an orange water bucket in the past week. They both came back to life. (I also rescued one that came back to life in 2015.) Now I have reason to believe that the same beetle fell in the bucket TWICE. How do I know this? Because I marked Lazarus 3 with dabs of red nail polish. Then I set him free WAY far away from the water bucket in a flower bed of salvias. 

Well, last night, whom did I discover lurking by the back garage door? Yep, Lazarus 3 who's really Lazarus 2 who should be renamed Knieval because he has a death wish. In the photo below, you can see how far this beetle traveled to get back to the bucket. (James is waving from where the flower bed is located.) That's the same place where I released Lazarus 2. Are you confused yet? This beetle has made the same trip TWICE to get back to the water bucket.
I checked this morning, and Knieval is still hanging out in the same area on the exterior wall. Stay tuned. I think I need to find an ironclad beetle expert to report all this.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh Sheryl, I'm shaking my head and grinning at you. Do keep us posted. :) This lady loves bugs, has crazy bug affairs. Supported, of course, by her equally 'crazy' husband.

Sheryl Smith-Rodgers said...

It's just all so interesting and fascinating!

Rebecca said...

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

awesome to hear about

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