Insect Season

I have been thinking about bugs a lot  lately.  Now framed and visible is the bug that I drew in February.  I took Amy Bartlett Wright's course The Artful Insect : Entomological Illustration at RISD.  We studied insects under high magnification and drew them in the traditional style of scientific illustration.  I drew this leaf footed bug that I believe is Leptoglossus Occidentalis from the instructor's collection.

 I am trying to start my own collection of hard bodied insects to draw.  For now I am freezing anything that looks interesting and planning to pin them properly later.

We are currently having an unpleasant experience with Lyme disease that has caused us to increase our searches for ticks on the bodies' of dogs and people. Also Willa has been actively enjoying her hobby of jumping and snapping at any flying insect that comes her way.  She is so tall that the snapping teeth can come near the face of a standing adult.  Knowing this makes us even more aware and perhaps more bothered by flies in the kitchen.  It is only the beginning of bug season here.  -Polly