Bug

...



I've got some kind of summer cold, which has turned my brain to jelly, and sapped all my energy. My co-workers are dis-assembling the scenery for The Lieutenant of Inishmore and as soon as they are finished, Sheri and I will be repainting a gigantic expanse of stage floor. I'm hoping that I feel better soon, because painting an acre of shiny black without any flaws is an exhausting and daunting task under the best of circumstances.

I like the use of the word "bug" to describe an illness, or an annoyance, or any of a number of insects. I remember a visiting Belgian being irritated by the seeming inexactness of the word "bug." I suppose you could say that it bugged him (but that would be a cheap joke, and I would never do that).

The bug in the top photos is, I think, a honey bee. That would be a European species, introduced to America for agricultural purposes.




I think this bee-like bug is a native hover fly, or Syrphus opinator. More honestly, I thought it was a hover fly, and the real experts suggested the scientific name. At this stage in its life, it feeds on pollen and nectar, but when it was in its larval stage, it would have feasted on the many, many aphids in my garden. I don't use any chemical pesticides, so I have to rely on animals like this too keep the population of pests in check.




I think my garden is doing pretty well, without the use of chemical poisons.