The Entomologist: part two (the Italian edition).

As I am sure I've written on multiple occasions, as children, my brother and my two cousins used to spend the long school summers visiting my grandparents at the Mulinetta.  Everyday after lunch was siesta time.  Now in the heat, after food, I think of siesta time as the most luxurious time imaginable!  However as a child I hated it, two hours of boredom stuck in a room with the shutters closed, knowing the world outside was so much more fun.  

When I was nine, I discovered that if I waited till the adults were asleep I could open the shutters, climb out of the window and explore without interruption.  I found my best treasures then; porcupine quills, dead stag beetles and abandoned wasp nests.   Once my Nonno caught me (I doubt I was particularly subtle) and I thought it would be the end of my mini-adventures but instead we hunted for owl pellets and he showed me how you can soak them in water and pick out the bones of the owl's last meal.

This year was no exception, I found some wonderful critters.  As my bug book is for UK wildlife only, these insects will have to remain nameless, but they are wonderful nonetheless.  (A couple of these beasties are quite well hidden - think of it as a kind of 'Where's Wally?').

This yellow spider was hiding in the sunflowers; isn't he such an incredible colour?