... saving itself from extinction, appearing as a magnificent
rainbow jewel 175 million years later, or humans’ thinking ah! this would make
a good meal …
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| Matrix Opal c/o National Opals, Australia |
Bugs are incredible, and together with the natural earth, keep
this world in balance, which is more than can be said for the Anthropocene
epoch.
Nothophantes Horridus – yes, more commonly called the Horrid
Ground-Weaver – an extremely rare species of spider in the family Linyphidae
(sheet weavers or money spiders).
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| Goldcrest love Sheet Weavers |
Etymology gives this little bug its name: from the Greek words
‘notho’, meaning spurious, and ‘hyphantes’, which means weaver, and the Latin ‘horridus’,
which means … not horrid! … but
bristly.
Anyways … it is very rare and has only recently (1989) been
found in a microscopic area of Plymouth, Devon, less than one kilometre square - whereupon its
environmental friends called this endangered species ‘to action’: as evidence that a housing development in a quarry
should not go ahead: the Planning
Inspector upheld the bug’s right to exist.
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| A fossilised Belemoidea |
The next is a Belemoidea, which has raised its pretty little
head after life in the Jurassic era – about 175 million years ago.
They are an extinct group of marine cephalopod (being millions of years old I guess that’d they'd be extinct?!) – but very similar to squid and closely related to the modern cuttlefish.
This particular bug has had a chequered life … seen by marine
dinosaurs in Australia’s vast inland sea, before the sea regressed. At that time the weather was erratic and very
acidic – the effects caused silica-rich gel to become trapped in the
earth. Over time the silica solidified
to form opals.
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| The Virgin Rainbow Opal |
This Virgin Rainbow Opal was found in the Coober Pedy district
of Western Australia – “The Opal Capital of the World”. It has been secured for the South Australian
Museum in Adelaide.
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| Coober Pedy |
Not knowing the area at all … I was interested to see that
Coober Pedy lies on the Adelaide to Alice Springs road and on to Darwin – I’ve
taught myself a bit of geography here.
We are running out food … well so they say … and we’ve always
constantly looked at other alternatives of food sources … how about bugs? Australia has them … Balmain Bugs – I always liked
the look of these slippery lobsters – a food to be enjoyed.
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| Balmain Bug |
Some of these aren't bugs ... buttttt .......... I enjoyed writing about them!
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| Balmain Bug, Prawn, Squid, etc |
A lot of us won’t eat bugs … just the thought of scrunching
down a creepy crawly sends shivers down our spines. They’re not unhealthy; they’re often quite
tasty and loaded with the sort of nutritious good stuff dietary
professionals love.
Sooner or later we’re probably going to have to get over our
apprehensions and embrace these remarkably efficient sources of protein.
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| Served at a pub near you ... |
Let us eat worms, we already eat snails … the American Army
Survival Handbook, I see, tells you (not me!) how to catch worms, clean (purge) them and
then you can eat them raw.
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| Late 1800s ad |
But remember we used to despise oysters – the poor man’s food …
and those bugs the lobsters despised by American coastal dwellers, but beloved
by the train passengers (good to eat) and railroad bosses (cheap to provide).
Now there’s the Wild Food School in Lostwithiel, Cornwall –
which provides Entompohagy Courses – new word?!
Yes for me too … but here they show us that eating insects is de riguer in many parts of the world ...
So let’s embrace bugs … for their use, their balance of life,
and for the beauty they might provide in a quarter of a billion years ahead!
Here are some links … that might amuse and tell more of their
story:
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
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