Virginia Cheeseman Blog

Some nice sunny weather this week, shame it always seems to be during the week when everyone is working. I am going to an animal show tomorrow and the forecast is rain. I went to the Kettering bug fair last Sunday, I bought some great new bugs but there seemed to be far less exhibitors and visitors than previous years. There was a guy at the show who breeds giant beetles, he had a fantastic display. I bought some Rainbow stag beetle larvae, the adults were beautiful, brightly coloured with an iridescent sheen. Unfortunately there wasn't a huge range of tarantulas and there were no bargains to be had. I expected to get some new praying mantids but the prices were too high for me to sell on. I did get some Jungle Nymph stick insects, they were top of my shopping list (yes, I do take a shopping list to the shows). I went a bit mad and bought them from several exhibitors as I haven't had them for ages. The result was that when I sorted out my accounts the next day I had spent nearl...

Easter has been and gone, the weather here has been pretty rotten. I went out on Good Friday and it rained, we had a barbeque on Easter Sunday and it was cold and wet (plus the gas ran out and I had to cook the food in the oven and under the grill!). However the bugs are doing well and I was very excited to discover two little baby Crested geckos when I cleaned out my gecko tank. The eggs had hatched in the moss box within the cage. They are gorgeous, I have never bred any lizards before. I was also pleased to find newts in my sister's garden this week. I was organising a bug hunt for my sister's grandchildren and was amazed to turn over a rock and instead of the usual, slugs, worms and woodlice there were two newts. I am in the process of putting in a new wildlife pond in front of my bug house and I would love to put some newts in it (whether they would stay there is another matter). I spent some time over Easter re-arranging my spider shelves. I have several 'unidentifi...

A busy week with things coming and going, I had more giant millipedes and mantids arrive, I now have a good selection of both. Millipedes have become really popular in the last year or so. They are very easy to care for and don't cost much to keep. They are happy in a plastic box or old fish tank and they feed on rotten wood, leaf litter and the occasional piece of fruit and veg. They can also be set up and left for a couple of weeks while people are on holiday. I really like stick insects and praying mantids but they cannot be left as they need constant care. Going on holiday and leaving the bugs is a huge problem for me. I spend weeks cutting down on stock and then try and set the animals up to look after themselves. It's a nightmare but I do love my holidays and when you work from home, you really need to get away. I realised yesterday that the A.E.S. (Amateur Entomologists Society) annual show is one week before we go on our cruise in October. I won the cruise in a competit...