Putting the plan into action is going well

Putting the plan into action is going well. I haven't bought anything new this week and it has freed up time to sort out some of the stock that I already have. The bug house is overflowing, especially with spiders. The Barking Birdeaters have all been housed at last, they had to be left in tubs until I had enough larger boxes to put them in. Thankfully it has been a busy week sales wise and I have therefore had many cages vacated on a daily basis. I am hoping that some of the Barking Birdeaters will be gravid as they were wild caught. I really don't like animals being collected from the wild but this species is still quite rare in the hobby.

The Indonesian beetles are laying eggs, which is brilliant. My hubby sawed up the Oak branch that I managed to lug back from the woods. I'm not sure how long the eggs take to hatch but I do know I mustn't go poking them about! The larvae of these tropical beetles grow to a huge size but like our native Stag beetles they do take a long time to develop. Sadly I still haven't seen a native Stag beetle this year, they are undoubtedly my favourite British bug.

I must just say as I look out of my office window, our garden is looking particularly beautiful this year. I'm amazed that anything managed to survive the winter that we had. It was certainly the worst winter that I can ever recall and I would be quite happy to never see snow again. A few people have this week said how they admire my front garden. It is an absolute jungle but we have lots of really pretty flowers and it's great for bugs, bees and other wildlife. I'm not sure if our mole is still resident in the front garden. I haven't seen any mounds of earth but they could be hidden among the plants. I love the garden, I'm always pottering. It annoys my family that whenever I go out the front door I start pulling up weeds and doing a bit of dead heading. They generally sit in the car, on the drive and shout at me. If I wasn't breeding bugs I could well have been a gardener but I don't think I would manage very well in the cold weather as I hate it so-oo much.

I have had quite a response to last week's blog when I mentioned worrying about the animals when I go on holiday in August. I really would like to thank the people who offered to help, I do sincerely appreciate it. I don't think I made things very clear though, I only need someone to pop in and feed the stick insects, millipedes, beetles etc. The spiders and scorpions will be fine, I can feed and water them before I go. I certainly don't want anybody touching them while I am away (just in case). I am always saying 'if someone is going to get bitten in my bug house, I want it to only be me'. I nearly was this morning! I am writing this blog a bit later than usual as I was feeding some of the larger tarantulas. I opened the lid on a Baboon spider and the next thing I knew it had run onto my hand. Luckily it showed no sign of aggression but it was a daft thing to do, the spiders are much more active in this warm weather and I should have thought about that. However as with most animals they don't attack for no reason. If I had grabbed it the spider may have bitten but as I let it walk back into the box it was fine. Anyway I digress (as usual), I think I have found someone reliable and fairly local to help while we are away, so that is brilliant and a weight off my mind. I am still working towards having only animals that can be left for a week or two without any maintenance but it's not easy. My bug house is a log cabin and gets very dry, I spray the stick insects etc. twice a day but I cannot keep the room permanently humid or it will rot away

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine, I certainly am!