Official State Insects

Last week,  someone on Instagram posted a photo of a European praying mantis.  It's apparently the state insect of South Carolina.  In disbelief, I asked if  the poster was joking.  It was confirmed that praying mantis is South Carolina's state insect.  Official state insects is a thing.

Being the nerd that I am, I needed to know the state insects of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia aka the DMV.  Well.  The list of official state insects was...underwhelming.  

Iowa, Michigan and the District of Columbia couldn't be bothered. You may insist that the District of Columbia is not a state.  Whatever.  D.C. has an official dinosaur though. CAPITALSAURUS.  This is not a dad joke.  It's true.  Sigh.

Anyhow, most of the list are showy butterflies and the European honeybee.  A few states chose lady beetles or less photogenic species. I expected more diversity.  I mean, I've seen more variety from not even looking for insects.

In case you're wondering, Virginia's state insect is the tiger swallowtail butterfly.  Maryland's is the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly which I've spotted more than once in D.C.  But never in Maryland.

Praying Mantis: Not Cute, Not a Vegan, Kinda Scary

Why am I writing about praying mantis?  Because it's an insect with a neck. 

I discovered this while maniacally snapping pictures of a praying mantis stalking a bumble bee.  I think I annoyed her.  She turned her head and looked me up and down; I wasn't prepared for that (WTF?).  Something told me that I was being insulted and dismissed all in one glance.  She turned her attention back to the bee.  I kept taking photos while she ignored me.  Poised and intrepid---she's my supermodel.

Insects: Beloved Butterflies  

"I hate butterflies," said no one.  I've come across as a hater in some posts, but I'm really not.  It's hard to hate something so beautiful and ephemeral.  So I'm conflicted.  Allowances must be made for their offspring in the garden...unless you grow vegetables specifically for them to devour; I don't.  Also, they're not the easiest to photograph, but modeling isn't a butterfly's calling.

You know who's an unflappable model?  Praying mantis.  Shockingly for some, butterflies are on its menu.  I have video of this carnage, but I don't think y'all want to see it.

Insects That Are Not Honey Bees or Butterflies II

"Oh, the noise!" people exclaim.  Fascinating cicada is known for the worst song on summer's soundtrack.  I mean, you spent most of your life underground, then you had a few weeks to do your thing...  Wouldn't you scream at the top of your lungs?  I prefer the cicada chorus to the leaf blowers and weed whackers racket any day.

More on summer's soundtrack.  The hypnotic sound of cicadas transports me to lazy, unscheduled summer days. Laying around and waiting for someone to slice the watermelon.  Or getting lost in a world of make believe until called into the house for lunch/supper.  Cicadas are intertwined with those pleasantly redacted memories.

Maybe the husks cicadas leave behind are unsettling.  Add the husks to the compost heap and return them to the earth.

Insects That Are Not Honey Bees or Butterflies 

What unpoetic soul hates butterflies?  I've never heard anyone admit to ambivalence to butterflies.  No one goes around swatting butterflies or shooing them away.  I confess my love/dislike relationship with butterflies.  Butterflies are stunning and so photogenic.  BUT...they are voracious in the larval stage.  AND...I suspect their role as pollinators is a little exaggerated.  I may be wrong.

Eastern carpenter bees don't get as much press as honey bees although they are first rate pollinators and incredibly charming.  Unlike many insects, they aren't skittish so you can take as many photos as you like while they rest, mate or ravage a flower for its pollen. Carpenter bees are curious; they'll hover over your shoulder as you garden and turn towards your camera while you obsessively snap photos.  The Eastern carpenter bee is an underappreciated native insect.