Adventuring......

The morning was sunny and bright as this little beetle decided to go on an adventure. He started at ground level weaving his way through a forest of plants. It was a little dark and damp with a musky aroma being amongst snails and slugs, how he wished he could feel the sunlight upon his back.

He looked up - up seemed like a long way to go. He wondered how long it would take him to get to the top of the lupin as it swayed in the wind. Slowly he climbed clinging to the slender stalk as the wind hurled him around, swinging the stalk this way and that way so fast he began to feel giddy and oh so sick!

This was not a good idea he thought but there was no going back and the desire of reaching the top far out weighted everything else, slowly he carried on.

Looking up he could just make out the top. The noise was loud as the wind rustled the leaves, a couple of dandelion seed heads floated around him. Perhaps if I jump I could land on one, how cool would that be floating to the top - I'd be flying! But when he saw how far down it was, the horror of missing the dandelion and falling flat on his face crept over him and it became clear, this wasn't a very good option. Feeling tired and slightly discouraged he trudged on.

Just as he made the last big lurch for the top a wasp circled looking down upon the little beetle. The beetle shivered as he looked at the evil eye of the wasp secretly wishing the wasp would just fly away, he didn't feel like being stung today! A big gust of wind bent the slender stalk right over so it nearly touched the ground then pinged up with such a force the little beetle was left quite shaken and by the time he had gathered his wits the wasp had gone, that was a close call he thought.

He sat quietly taking in the view - Wow! Everything was green with just a few flowers opening - it all looked so beautiful! He was proud he had made it to the top, it was a huge achievement but now it was time to start the descent as living in the 'tree tops' was not really the best place for a little beetle to be.

Happy Friday blippers - the weekend is here :)

The beetle is a Varied Carpet Beetle, (Anthrenus verbasci) 3 mm-long, belonging to the Dermestidae family. He is a serious household pest and a pest in natural history museums, where it can damage biological specimens. While adults are pollen grazers, larvae feed on natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing and insect collections.

He looks good in large.

He can stay outside in my garden :)