1. break in
2. discover we own no gold, jewelry, tvs, dvds
3. not much in the fridge, either
4. punch holes in the walls out of spite
On top of keeping the security deposit safe, the light also acts as a watering hole for a smorgasbord of strange, huge, bugs. At any given moment one can walk outside at night and spy a giant locust, a grasshopper, a cockroach the size of a silver dollar, mosquitos, mosquito-eaters, june bugs, cicadas, moths, and the green anole lizards that feast on these delightful creatures. The other weekend we found this guy perched on the inside of the door frame:
As I proceeded to capture this insect using the "jar and postcard" method, I noticed a fresh cinnamon-like smell in the air. I gently nudged it into the jar (minding the antennae), carried the jar-with-bug into the kitchen, where my live-in girlfriend Alisha was, and asked if she was chewing Big Red. Negative. A whiff of the top of the jar and it was clear that this bug smells great.
Our first hypothesis was that it was a giant cockroach with the legs of a grasshopper. It was surprisingly hard to pinpoint the exact genus and species, even with internet searches such as "central texas cinnamon insect." Finally, we came across the profile of the Leaf-Footed Pine Seed bug (Leptoglossus corculus), a relatively harmless beast, considered a pest but not a threat in the Midwestern United States. They obtain their scent from the pine trees that they feed on, and reportedly smell terrible, spraying a foul stench of pine-tar on their attacker. This one must have been dwelling in my grandmother's potpourri cabinet, as I would gladly give it a home in a little dish in the bathroom.
Note: Cinnamon oil is a natural insect repellant, so perhaps this bug considered us potentially harmful insects.
Alisha and I were supposed to meet some friends at a nearby bar/coffeeshop/all-around-hangout, so we covered the top of our new friend's jar with wax paper, poked some holes, and took him along. We all sat in a circle, passed the bug-jar around to the left, and took hits off the top. If there was such thing as a smells-bong (working on it) I would gladly pack a bowl of this guy.
Here is the Leaf-Footed Pine Seed Bug at the Rio Rita Lounge, next to Texas's favorite, cheapest, beer, the Lone Star:
