Welcome back to Bug Club!

I want to start off by apologising for the large gap between the last issue and this one - I've been away for the last few weekends and didn't have a good opportunity to write this newsletter.

But, we are back now! And nearly through the summer! I never thought I'd be saying this, but I can't wait for the colder months. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the wildlife in spring and summer, but the heat this year has been too much. I'm ready for the rain, the cold, and getting cosy under the heated blanket with my cat.

I had a good couple of weekends of holiday though! I spent a couple of days visiting a Uni friend I haven't seen since 2023 down in Cheddar, which is a wonderful town to visit, even if they do have cheese flavoured ice cream, and then this last week I was down in Mevagissey, Cornwall, with my extended family for our annual week away. Mevagissey is one of my favourite places in the world, the town is full of independent shops and the coastal wildlife is amazing, though you do need to be ok with steep hills and narrow streets if you want to stay there. If you're into liqueur, I highly recommend the Cornish Charlestown Lust - in my opinion the Cappuccino Cream Liqueur is better than Baileys!

The Bug Spotlight!

The Comet Moth Argema Mittrei The Comet Moth, or Madagascan Moon Moth, is essentially the Luna Moth's lesser known cousin. Both are silk moths of similar size and shape, but, in my opinion at least, the Comet Moth doesn't get the recognition and appreciation it deserves! It gets its name from its two tails, resembling the appearance of a comet. These tails have no function in terms of flight, but are instead used to confuse bats - bat's echolocation bounces weirdly off the strange shapes, and they end up attacking the tails instead of the main body of the moth! This guy is one of the biggest moths in the world, with a wingspan of up to 20cm, but like a number of other moth species, the adults lack the ability to eat, meaning they only survive for about a week after pupating.

Why Does This Exist?

As we are entering late summer, we will start to see a lot more wasps about. This is because wasp larvae are beginning to pupate, and the adults are starting to prepare for winter. I don't think I've ever met anyone who likes wasps. If you have the opportunity to observe one, like with ants, you will find that they are much more intelligent and charismatic than you'd think.

Wasps have a reputation among humans as being "evil" - bees are cute and fuzzy and will never hurt you unprompted, but wasps are mean and bad and made of sin. No bug will ever attack you for no reason. You are so much bigger than every bug there is. Bugs will only attack out of fear you will kill them, or because you're too close to their young, wasps included. I'm not saying you can't be scared of them, but I want to remove this stigma that there are good and evil animals!

Wasps are one of our most efficient pollinators, alongside bees. But unlike bees, they also provide natural pest control! Wasp larvae are insectivorous, meaning adult wasps will collect smaller insects like aphids and flies to feed to their young. This is so effective that they are often used by commercial farming instead of chemical pest killers! Like woodlice, slugs, and ants, they also provide a "clean up crew" service, helping with the decomposition process of dead and decaying plant and animal matter by feeding it to their young.

If you're being shadowed by a wasp while holding a savoury food, the wasp is looking for food for its larva. If you have something sweet, the wasp is hungry. Adult wasps only eat sugary foods like nectar, and this is why you're more likely to be bothered by them after all the larvae have grown up. Particularly in colder climates like Britain, most adult wasps don't survive winter, only the queens hibernate to reproduce in the new year, so your leftover pepsi or jam sandwich might be this wasps last meal. Personally, I think it's a reasonable ask, even if a wasps version of begging is trying to land on your food while you're actively eating it.

Yes, wasps are able to sting more than once, but as long as you stay calm and handle it gently, it is very unlikely to do so. Keep a respectful distance if you're able to, especially if you're allergic, but 90% of the time they just want a little sweet treat :)

Art Updates!

Recently, I've been focusing on my digital art commissions, that I prefer to keep separate from this work as it differs so much. But, over the holidays, I have gotten back into crochet, and I will be posting regular updates about that on my TikTok! In theory (we'll see how my undiagnosed ADHD feels) I want to make a line of animal/bug inspired scarves, but as they take me several days to make, painting and drawing will still be my main product focus.

As I mentioned before, I now have an active Etsy shop! To thank you for subscribing and enjoying my work, use the code BUGMAIL25 at checkout to get 25% off my originals and custom artworks!

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