Well, Professor Ewan got his first pet of the summer, and in an unexpected location. We opened the front door and there on the porch was a Japanese stag beetle (kuwagata). It was a surprise to say the least. With a totally uncharacteristic turn of speed the Prof picked it up and transferred it to a pet box while I was still pointing at the spot on the ground. It seemed like he'd been training all his life for this moment! Anyway, our guest has adapted well to his new home, possibly because of the abundant supply of jelly that my son has lavished on him. It's getting to the point where I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one morning with a 2 meter set of mandibles locked around my neck!!
About the right size for my son to ride it!
Actually, stag beetles make great pets. They're easy to look after. All they need is a suitable piece of wood to hide under, a reliable source of jelly and can be carried around on a finger. With two you can enjoy the spectacle of them trying to fling each other off the piece of wood! One thing to avoid is holding them to close to the face. They have a very beetle like habit of spraying fluid out of their back end. You can see this in the video :)
No comments:
Post a Comment