Buggin' Out

A few more bug stories from Ecuador to share with you. Lately we’ve had a large influx of shield bugs on a specific tree near our home. We’ll pass and see many congregated in piles on top of each other. (I think it’s mating season.) Yesterday I heard the kids laughing and yelling about the bugs outside. I went outside to see what Caleb and Jael were up to and was greeting by my children covered in bugs and an awful stench. They had decided it would be cool to see how many bugs they could get in Caleb’s bug box, but in the process were “sprayed” as they attempted to catch them. I stripped the kids clothes and washed them up but couldn’t totally get rid of the smell. A few minutes later we discovered that the spray also left a strange yellow coloring on the kids’ hands. We’ve washed them numerous times, but it seems as though the coloring is just getting darker with time instead of going away. Hopefully it isn’t toxic and the kids will remember to ask before going bug collecting next time.

Caleb with a few of the bugs on his elbow and shirt.

Their collection!

Caleb's hands a day (and many washes) later.

A few hours later the kids were playing outside when we noticed a loud drone and looked up to see a huge swarm of bees. We rushed the kids inside for awhile but didn’t hear anything so thought they had flown away. We looked around and discovered a huge “bee ball” in the tree outside our kitchen window. There was nothing in the middle of them except more bees and they didn’t make a sound as they sat there. Our neighbors had had the same thing occur last week, but their “ball” was larger, the size of a basketball. We found someone who had bug spray (and could run quickly) and got rid of our bee problem.

Our bee ball.