Newsletter #157 - Are we the aliens?
Newsletter #157 - Are we the aliens?
What's your favorite bug?
A couple mornings ago I went to go into my studio and right on the door was a praying mantis.
Just one of the coolest bugs you could come across.
I think everyone has seen one, right?
Not a picture, you’ve seen one in real life, in person, probably.
Maybe it depends on where you live, I guess?
I usually see one a year, around this time. I guess they hatch. They always just present themselves. Like… oh, wow, there’s a praying mantis!
They’re pretty docile and easy to capture. I got a clear plastic box and put it next to it and it walked right onto it.
I brought it inside my studio. The sun was coming through the windows and I took my camera and just started making shots.
Why are we trying to explore outer space?
Aliens are right here. Under our noses. On our studio doors.
They probably are all around us.
Maybe they are us.
I made a video about this if you want to watch and hear me talk about it:
I often record myself talking without a script, so I say things that may not be completely accurate, but it’s the internet in 2024 so I believe that has been determined to be okay.
After two minutes of research, I discovered that praying mantises usually hatch in the spring. I guess they grow big enough throughout the summer that by the fall you are more likely to notice them.
The day after I saw the praying mantis, I found this green caterpillar crawling outside.
I looked it up and discovered it is a Polyphemus moth caterpillar.
I got so into my moth research that I am currently in a YouTube bug and moth video rabbit hole and I believe I am being radicalized. I might lose everything I have so I can become a full-time bugfluencer. Please send help immediately!
Anyway, I brought the caterpillar inside my studio and it made a cocoon on some leaves I left for it.
In two weeks I might have a Polyphemus moth. How cool is that!
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Zach Vitale’s favorite bug is the roly-poly.
Kristen Neufeld’s favorite bug is the luna moth (Actias luna).
I don’t think this is the help you were asking for, but your story reminded me of someone else who got deep into caterpillars: https://open.substack.com/pub/merrillmarkoe/p/milkweed-junkies-in-rehab?r=xi48&utm_medium=ios
The praying mantis here is named Joan. Sorry, I don't make the rules.