Chapter 1 of Insect Diary: On Ancestry: Everyone has his own unique personality. Sometimes, this personality seems to be inherited from the ancestors, but when you want to ask where this personality comes from Yes, but very difficult. When I was very young, I had a desire to be close to things in nature. If you think that my love of observing plants and insects is something I inherited from my ancestors, that is simply a big joke.

Chapter 2 The Mysterious Pond

I never get tired of staring at the pond. In this small green world, I don’t know how many busy little lives are busy.

By the pond, you can see piles of black tadpoles chasing each other everywhere; the salamander with a red belly also sways its broad tail like a rudder and moves forward slowly; in the reeds In the grass, we can also find groups of caddis fly larvae, which hide their bodies in small sheaths made of dead branches - this small sheath is used to defend against natural enemies and various unexpected disasters.

Chapter 3 Caddis

I put some small aquatic animals into the pond, they are called caddis. To be precise, they are the larvae of caddis moths, which are usually cleverly hidden in small sheaths made of dead branches.

Caddis flies originally grew in reeds in mire swamps. In many cases, it is attached to the broken branches of reeds and drifts in the water with the reeds. That little sheath is its mobile home.

This kind of mobile house can actually be regarded as a very exquisite woven art. It is composed of the root bark of plants that fall off after being soaked in water.

Chapter 4 Dung Beetle

The first time people talked about dung beetles was in the past six or seven thousand years ago. When farmers in ancient Egypt were irrigating their fields in the spring, they often saw a fat black insect passing by them, busily pushing back a ball-like object. Of course they were surprised to notice this strange spinning object, just like the farmers of Browsing today.

In the past, the Egyptians imagined that this round ball was a model of the earth, and the movements of the dung beetle were consistent with the movements of the stars in the sky. They thought that this beetle had so much astronomical knowledge and was therefore very sacred, so they called it the "Holy Beetle".

At the same time, they also believe that the balls thrown by the beetles and rolling on the ground are filled with eggs, and the small beetles come out from there. But in fact, this is just its food storage. There are no eggs in it.

Chapter 5 Cicada

The worst criminals are ants. I have seen them bite the tips of a cicada's legs, drag its wings, and climb up its back. Once, a fierce gangster even grabbed the cicada's straw in front of me and tried to kill it. Pull off.

In the end, the troubles increased and there was no choice. The singer had no choice but to abandon the well he had made and escaped quietly. So the ant's goal was achieved and he took possession of the well. However, this well also dried up quickly, and the juice was eaten up immediately. So it looked for an opportunity to rob another well in order to have a second drink.

Look, isn’t the real fact the opposite of that fable? Ants are stubborn beggars, but hard-working producers are cicadas!

Chapter 6 The Mason Bee< /p>

There are many kinds of insects that like to build their nests next to our houses. Among these insects, the most interesting one is the one called the wasp.

Why? The main reason is that the Waistless Wasp has a very beautiful and attractive figure, a very smart mind, and one thing that should be noted is its very strange nest. However, very few people know about this small insect.

Sometimes, they even live next to a certain family's stove, but this family knows nothing about this little neighbor. Why? Mainly because of its innate, quiet and peaceful nature. Indeed, this little creature lives so secluded that it hardly attracts attention.

Chapter 7 Praying Mantis

There is an insect in the south that, like the cicada, is very interesting to people, but it is not very famous because it cannot sing. If it also had a cymbal, its reputation would be much greater than that of a famous musician, because it is very unusual in shape and habit. It will be a great player.

Years ago, in ancient Greece, this insect was called the mantis, or prophet. The farmers saw it standing half upright on the sun-scorched grass, with a very solemn attitude. Its broad, gauze-like thin wings were trailing like a mask, and its front legs were shaped like arms, stretching into the air, as if they were flying. Praying, in the eyes of ignorant farmers, it seemed like a nun, so later, some people called it the praying mantis.

Chapter 8 Bees, Cats and Red Ants

I hope to know more stories about bees. I once heard someone say that a bee has the ability to recognize direction. No matter where it is abandoned, it can always return to its original place. So I wanted to try it myself.

One day, I caught forty bees in the hive under the eaves, and asked my little daughter Egland to wait under the eaves. Then I put the bees in a paper bag and took them away. After walking for two miles and a half, I opened the paper bag and threw them there to see if any bees flew back.

In order to distinguish whether the bees that flew under the eaves of my house were the ones I threw far away, I made white marks on the backs of the abandoned bees.

In the process, my hand was inevitably stung several times, but I kept persisting. Sometimes I even forgot about my pain, and just held the bee tightly and continued my work. After finishing the work, more than twenty bees were injured. When I opened the paper bag, the bees that had been trapped for a long time swarmed out and flew in all directions, as if they were trying to distinguish which direction to go home.

Chapter 9: Mining Bees Digging Tunnels

Mining bees are slender bees with different body sizes. The big one is bigger than a wasp, and the small one is smaller than a fly. . But they have one unique feature, that is, there is an obvious groove at the bottom of its abdomen. There is a thorn hidden in the groove. When the enemy comes to invade, the thorn can move back and forth along the groove. , to protect yourself.

What I want to talk about here is about a kind of bee with red markings among the mining bees. The markings of the female wasp are very beautiful and eye-catching, with the slender abdomen surrounded by black and brown stripes. As for its size, it's about the same size as a wasp.

Its nest is often built in solid soil because there is no danger of collapse. For example, the flat path in our yard is their ideal house foundation. Every spring, they come to this place in droves to set up camp. The number of each group varies, with the largest containing hundreds of wasps. This place has become their metropolis.

Chapter 10 Fireflies

Among the various types of insects, few are able to emit light. But one of them is famous for its glow. This strange little animal looks like a lamp hanging on its tail to express its best wishes for a happy life.

Even if we have never met it, we have never seen it flying over the grass in the dark night, or we have never seen it set from the full moon.

Just like a little bit of Mars, then, at least from its name, we can have some understanding of it. In ancient times, the Greeks used to call it bright tail, which is a very vivid name. In modern times, scientists have given it a new name, called firefly (Iamqyris).

Chapter 11: Tube Worms

When spring comes, people who can see anything in the world clearly as long as they have a pair of eyes, look at the dilapidated walls and A rather strange little thing can be found on the dusty roads or in those empty lands.

It was a small bundle of firewood. I don’t know why, but it could move freely on its own, jumping and jumping forward. Inanimate things have become living things, and things that cannot move can actually beat. What is going on?

This is indeed very strange and very strange. But if we take a closer look, we can quickly solve the mystery.

Chapter 12 Cicada: Cicada’s Eggs

Common cicadas like to lay their eggs on dry branches. It selects the smallest branches, most of which are as big as between dead grass and a pencil. These twigs rarely hang down, but usually turn upward, and are almost dead.

The cicada finds a suitable twig and uses a sharp tool on its chest to prick it with a row of small holes that look like piercing it diagonally with needles. A dead branch is often pricked with thirty or forty holes. Its eggs are laid in these small holes. About ten eggs are usually laid in each small hole, and the total number is about three hundred or four hundred.

Chapter 13 Woodcutter Bee

If you walk in the garden, you will find some delicate little holes on the leaves of lilacs or roses, some of which are round. , there are also oval ones, as if someone had cut them with clever techniques.

Some leaves have so many holes that only the veins remain. Who did this? Why do they do this? Is it because it tastes delicious or is it fun? These things are all done by woodcutter bees. They use their mouths as scissors and rely on their eyes and body movements to cut. Small leaves.

They do this not because they think it tastes good, nor for fun, but because these small leaves are so important in their lives. They gather these many small leaves into needle-shaped pouches, which can store honey and eggs. Each wood wasp's nest contains a dozen hoop-shaped bags that overlap one another.

Chapter 14: Cotton-gathering Bees and Lipid-gathering Bees

We know that many bees, like woodcutter bees, cannot build their own nests, but only borrow the remains of other animals. Or use abandoned nests as their own shelter. Some bees will live in the former homes of mason bees, some will live in the tunnels of earthworms or in the empty shells of snails, some will occupy the branches where the mining bees once occupied, and some will move into the former homes of the digger bees. Living sand pit.

Chapter 15: Homemade Spanish Rhinoceros Head

I hope you still remember the sacred beetle, which consumed its time and made it into a pear shape that can be used as both food and pear. The base of the nest is a round ball.

I have already pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of this shape to the little beetle, for the round shape is the best shape for preserving food so that it does not dry out or become hard.

After observing this beetle at work for a long time, I began to doubt that my instinct to praise it so much was perhaps wrong. Do they really care about their little larvae and prepare the softest and most suitable food for them?

Chapter 16 Two Rare Grasshoppers

The sea is the first place of living things There are still many kinds of strange animals in the places where they appeared, making it impossible for people to count their specific numbers or distinguish their specific types. These primitive models of the animal kingdom are preserved in the depths of the ocean. This is what we often say, the ocean is a priceless treasure trove for mankind, and it is one of the important conditions for human survival.

However, on land, almost all the strange-shaped animals in the past have become extinct. Only a few are still left, and most of the ones that remain today are insect-like animals. One of these is the praying mantis, about whose peculiar shape and habits I have already told you. The other one is Embusha.

Chapter 17 The Wasp

One day in September my youngest son Paul and I ran out to see a wasp's nest.

Little Paul has very good eyesight, coupled with his special concentration, which helps our observations to be carried out well. The two of us admired the scenery on both sides of the trail with great interest.

Suddenly, little Paul pointed to a place not far away and shouted to me: "Look! A wasp's nest. Right over there, a wasp's nest, is clearer than anything else. !"

Sure enough, about twenty yards away, little Paul saw something moving very fast, leaping up from the ground one by one, and immediately flying away quickly, like those bushes of grass Hidden inside is a small crater that is about to erupt, as if it is about to erupt one by one.

Chapter 18 The Adventure of the Grub

The high embankments surrounding the sandy countryside of Carpenras are a favorite place for wasps and bees. Why do they like this place so much?

The reason is mainly because the sunshine in this area is very abundant, and this area is also very easy to dig, which is very suitable for wasps and bees to live and work here. In weather like this in May, there are two main types of bees that are particularly abundant.

They are all mason bees, the builders of huts underground. One kind of bee, they build a defensive barrier that they think is impregnable - an earthen tube at the door of their house. It has a blank space inside, and the entire barrel is curved. The length and width of the tube are like a human finger.

Chapter 19 Cricket

Crickets that live in the grass are almost as famous as cicadas. They perform quite well among countless model insects. It is so famous mainly because of its residence, but also because of its outstanding singing talent.

Possessing only one of these is not enough for them to achieve such great fame. La Fontaine, an animal storyteller, only said a few simple words about it, as if he did not notice the genius and fame of this little animal.

Chapter 20 The petite red bee

With a slender waist and exquisite figure, the abdomen is divided into two sections, the lower part is larger and the upper part is smaller. It seems to be made of a thin The lines are connected, and there is a red belt around the black belly: this is the red bee.

The nests of red wasps are built in loose soil that is very easy to drill through. On both sides of the path, on the mudflats where the sun shines, the grass grows sparsely in those places, which are ideal habitats for wasps. In the spring, early April, we can always find them in places like this.

Chapter 21 Sisis

I hope you are not tired of hearing about the strange things about the beetles making balls in Qingdao. I have already told you about the sacred beetle and the Spanish rhinoceros, and now I would like to tell you about some other species of this animal. In the insect world, we have encountered many model mothers, and now just for fun, let's pay attention to good fathers!

Except among higher animals, good fathers are rare. Birds are excellent in this respect, and humans are best able to fulfill this obligation. Among lower animals, the father is indifferent to family affairs. Few insects are exceptions to this rule.

Chapter 22 Flycatchers

You already know how red wasps and wasps paralyze caterpillars or crickets to feed their young, and then how to seal the hole and leave the nest. Fly somewhere else. But not every bee lives like this. Now you are about to hear about another bee that feeds its young fresh food every day. This is the flycatcher bee.

This kind of bee likes to choose the lightest and loosest soil to make its nest in bright sunshine and blue sky. I sometimes observe them in a square with no shade. The weather is very hot. The only way to avoid the torment of the scorching sun is to lie down behind a small pile of sand, dig your head into the rabbit hole, or prepare a big umbrella for yourself.

Chapter 23 Parasites

In August and September, we should go to the bare, sun-scorched mountain gorges to find a On the slope facing the sun, it is often hot to the touch because the sun has almost scorched it.

It is precisely this place with a furnace-like temperature that is the target of our observation. Because it is in this kind of place that we can gain a lot. This hot land is often a paradise for wasps and bees.

They are often busy preparing food in mounds underground - here a pile of weevils, locusts or spiders, there a group of flies and caterpillars, and there The ones are storing honey in leather bags, earthen pots, cotton bags or urns made of leaves.

Chapter 24: Metabolic Workers

There are many insects that do extremely valuable work in this world, although they never receive corresponding rewards for it. and a commensurate title.

When you approach a dead mole and see ants, beetles, and flies swarming around it, you might get goosebumps and run away.

You would think they were all horrible, dirty insects, disgusting. This is not the case, they are busy cleaning up the world. Let us observe a few of these flies, and we will know how beneficial their actions are to humans and the entire natural world.

Chapter 25 Pine Caterpillar

In my garden, there are several pine trees planted. Every year caterpillars come to this pine tree to make a nest, and they almost eat up all the pine leaves. To protect our pine trees, I was exhausted every winter having to destroy their nests with long forks.

You greedy little caterpillar, it’s not that I’m rude, it’s that you are too presumptuous. If I don't drive you away, you will take over the spotlight. I will never again hear the pine trees laden with needles whispering in the wind.

Chapter 26 Cabbage Caterpillar

Cabbage is almost the oldest of all our vegetables. We know that people in ancient times have already begun to eat it.

In fact, it has existed on the earth for a long time before humans started eating it, so we really have no way of knowing when exactly it appeared and when humans first ate it. How to grow them? Botanists tell us that it was originally a wild plant with long stems and small leaves that grew on coastal cliffs.

History does not want to spend too much time recording such small things.

Chapter 27 Peacock Moth

The Peacock Moth is a very beautiful moth. The largest of them comes from Europe, is covered in reddish-brown down, has a white bow tie around its neck, and is speckled with gray and brown dots on its wings.

Running across the middle is a faint zigzag line. There is a gray-white edge around the wings. There is a big eye in the center with shiny black pupils and eyelids made of many colors, including black. , white, maroon and purple curved lines. This moth is transformed from a very beautiful caterpillar. Their body is yellow with blue beads embedded on it. They live by eating almond leaves.

Chapter 28 The beetle looking for mushrooms

Let’s talk about the beetles looking for mushrooms now.

This is a beautiful beetle, small, black, with a white velvet belly, round in shape, like the pit of a cherry, when it rubs its belly with the edge of its wings When it does, it will make a soft "chirp" sound, just like the sound a bird makes when it sees its mother coming back with food. The male beetle also has a beautiful horn on its head.

Chapter 29: Children who love insects

Nowadays, many people always like to attribute all people’s character, talents, hobbies, etc. to inheritance. That is to say, it is recognized that the wisdom of human beings and all animals comes from their ancestors. I don't entirely agree with this view. I will now use my own story to prove that my love of insects is not inherited from any ancestor.

My maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother never had the slightest interest or affection for insects. I don’t know much about my grandfather, I only know that he went through some pretty hard times.

Chapter 30 Striped Spider

No matter who you are, you probably don’t like winter. During this season, many bugs hibernate. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have bugs to watch. At this time, if an observer is searching in the sand where the sun can shine, or removing stones from the ground, or searching in the woods, he will always find something very interesting, which is a real thing. of artwork.

Those lucky enough to see this work of art are truly blessed. At the end of the year, the joy of discovering this work of art made me forget all my unhappiness and the climate that was getting worse day by day.

If anyone searches in the weeds or among the willows, I wish he would find something mysterious: the nest of the striped spider. Just like what I see before my eyes.

Chapter 31: Wolf Spider

Spiders have a bad reputation: most people think of them as scary animals and want to kill them when they see them. One foot tramples it to death, which may be related to the ferocious appearance of the spider. But a careful observer will know that it is a very hard worker, a talented weaver, a cunning hunter, and is also very interesting in other ways.

So even if you don’t look at it from a scientific perspective, spiders are animals worth studying. But everyone says it is poisonous. This is its biggest crime and the reason why everyone is afraid of it. Yes, it does have two fangs that can kill its prey instantly.

Chapter 32: Crusoe Spider

Crusoe Spider is an extremely smart and dexterous weaver, and as far as a spider is concerned, Crusoe Spider is Very beautiful. Its name is taken from one of the three ancient Greek goddesses of destiny, who is also the youngest. She is in charge of the spinning rod, from which the different destinies of all things are spun.

The Krushu spider can spin the most exquisite silk for itself, but the Krushu goddess cannot spin a happy destiny and comfortable life for us. This is really a regrettable thing for the world!

Chapter 33: Labyrinth Spider

Spiders that can build webs are experts at weaving. They use their webs to hunt small bugs that throw themselves into the web, and they can "just sit back and enjoy the harvest." It takes no effort at all." There are many other species of spiders that use many other clever ways to hunt for food, and they can also wait for work and reap a bumper harvest. Several of them are very accomplished in this area, and almost all books about insects will list them.

It is a black spider, some people also call it American wolf spider. They live in holes, just like the European wolf spider I talked about before. But their burrows are much more complete and elaborate than those of the European tarantula.

Chapter 34 The Architecture of Spider Webs

Traces of the garden spider can be seen even in the smallest gardens. They are all talented weavers.

If we take a walk at dusk, we can look for clues in a rosemary bush. The spiders we observe tend to crawl very slowly, so we should simply sit in the bushes and watch. There is more light there.

Let us add another title to ourselves and call it "Cobweb Observer"! There are very few people in the world who engage in this profession, and we don't have to expect to make any money from this industry.

Chapter 35: The Geometry of Spiders

When we observe the webs of garden spiders, especially silk spiders and striped spiders, we will find that their webs are not disorganized Yes, those spokes are arranged evenly, and the angles formed by each pair of adjacent spokes are equal; although the number of spokes is different for different spiders, this rule applies to all kinds of spiders.

We already know that spiders weave their webs in a very special way. They divide the web into equal parts, and spiders of the same type divide the same number of parts.

Chapter 36 Spider's Telegraph Line

Among the six species of garden spiders, only two species usually rest in the center of the web, namely the striped spider and the silky spider. Even if they are scorched by the scorching sun, they will never leave the net easily to rest in the shade. As for other spiders, they never appear during the day.

They have their own way of keeping work and rest in sync. Not far from their nets, there is a hidden place made of leaves and threads. During the day they hide here, quietly, immersed in deep contemplation.

Although this sunny day makes the spiders dizzy, it is also the time when other insects are most active: the locusts jump more lively, and the dragonflies fly more happily.

Chapter 37 Crab Spider

Although the striped spider we talked about earlier works very hard, it has been working tirelessly and forgetting food and sleep in order to build a comfortable nest for its eggs. . But later on, it could no longer take care of its home. Why? Because its life span is too short. It will die when the first cold snap arrives. And its eggs cannot hatch until winter has passed.

It had to abandon its nest. If the baby can be born while the mother is still alive, I believe that the mother spider will care for the baby spider as carefully as the birds. Another kind of spider proved my suspicion; it is a spider that cannot weave a web: it just waits for its prey to come close to it before catching it, and it walks sideways, a bit like a crab, so it is called a crab spider.