We need a bug identification book...

Maddox is a bug boy. He finds bugs interesting. I do not. I try to encourage his interests, even the ones that sick me out. He has a bug kit, magnifying glass, etc. Lately he's wanted to know what kinds of bugs he has caught. I try to find them online, but it isn't easy because I know nothing about bugs, because I do not like them. We found a new one last night:

Polyphylla decemlineata

It it a 10-lined June Beetle, or Hissing Beetle. It does hiss, LOUD. Seemed like a nice tame beetle sitting on the house, but the thing was not happy in the bug kit. It lifts it LARGE antennae up in the air and hisses, LOUD. Add in that this beetle is seriously 2 inches long and it makes for a freaky bug.

This picture was not our beetle, our beetle was bigger, I'm sure. Where is the bug now, you ask? As Maddox likes to say, in nature. We try to release our bugs, but Maddox knows that spiders aren't held to the same standard.