INSECTOPIA

A jar with some sand and lots of grass was my idea of an ideal set up to keep grasshoppers and ladybugs. Whenever I went out to the park I would look out for them and pick the ones I thought were the nicest and put them in the jar. I did this daily and soon I had a very colorful collection of ladybugs and a bunch of irate grasshoppers who always tried to escape. It failed to hit me that, maybe these hoppers didn’t like their new home. A few days later my mom advised me not to add more insects to the jar. So I stopped, only to notice on the very same day that there was a hopper in the jar that wasn’t moving. I removed it from the jar and inspected it closely, there was no movement and for once it wasn’t trying to escape. I carried my precious jar downstairs and set all the bugs free, and buried the dead one.

I knew then that I needed to start with a much smaller pet and I saw this red ant climbing the wall. I picked it. I had been warned not to go near them. But really how painful could an ant bite be? I soon discovered and discarded my “prospective” pet in fury.

It was obvious that trying to hold any creature captive without knowing the proper know how would only result in tragedy. I decided instead that I'll just befriend them and set them free after playing with them. I developed a knack for catching roaches. Initially I used to pick them and throw them out. But when I discovered that my brother didn't like them all that much, it gave me cheap thrills to scare him. Holding a cockroach by its antennae and running around the house after my brother bring back fond memories;)