Bill’s Bugs       

   Episode 6: Creepy

 Mom could tell that we were bored. It was a rainy Sunday. She said, “Kids, I have an idea.” 

 “You are both so interested in bugs. Why don’t you get on the Internet? Go to Google, and search for ugly or creepy bugs.” 

 “Then before dinner, you can show me and your Dad what you found. Pick two bugs, each. And make sure they’re REALLY bad bugs.” 

 I said, “That’s a great idea Mom. Come on Mary. Let’s see who can find the creepiest bugs!” After about an hour, we were ready. 

 Dad said, “Remember that, Amazon now has a browser with its Fire TV. You can show us what you’ve found on our big TV screen. ”   

 I asked, “You mean like how we’re using the TV with homework? So that we can use the Magic Ladder PQs App to help us when we’re reading stories and articles? 

 Dad nodded his head, “Yes.” We quickly set up the TV. My sister Mary said, “I’m going to start. My first bug is a real creeper. This is the camel spider.”   

 “They can grow to be a half a foot long. They usually eat bugs. But sometimes they eat snakes, lizards, and rodents.” 

 “They aren’t poisonous to humans. But if they bite you, it really hurts. I chose this bug because it is just so scary looking. And it zips along the ground at ten miles per hour!” 

 “It’s actually not even in the spider family. And it’s the biggest enemy is the scorpion. They have vicious fights with each other.” 

 “My other choice is the assassin bug. This little bug
bites its prey. Its poison then softens the insides of the other bug.” 

 “Once soft, the assassin bug sucks out the other bug’s insides. Is that gross or what? That’s why I picked this one. They sometimes even eat each other!” 

 “And get this! It will glue the bodies of dead bugs, onto its back. That makes it harder for other bugs to attack them.” 

 Mom, Dad, and I clapped loudly. Mary had chosen some truly nasty creatures to show us. Now it was my turn. 

 “My number one bad bug is the Japanese giant hornet. Don’t mess with these bullies.” 

 “They fly at twenty-five miles per hour. They are two inches long. And they have stingers that are a quarter-inch long.” 

 “They sting you by shooting their poison into your eyes.  

 “They mostly go after bees. A single one of them can chop up forty bees per minute. A team of thirty of these hornets can chop up thirty thousand bees, in three hours.” 

 “My other nasty bug is the bullet ant. It lives in trees. It is a whopping one-inch long. That is gigantic, for an ant!” 

 “It is said that of all insect stings, it is possibly the most painful. It won’t kill you. But it will REALLY hurt.” 

 “But there’s one more creepy thing to know about the bullet ant. Before it attacks you, it shrieks at you! I hope I never have to face one of those!” 

 Mom, Dad, and Mary, clapped for me too. My sister and I were very happy about what we had learned. 

 I added one final comment. “I learned this little fact too. Right now, for every human who is alive on the Earth, there are one-and-a-half billion bugs for EACH of us. That’s a lot of bugs!” 

1. What were Bill and Mary searching for on the internet? 
  fairytale 
  ugly, creepy bugs 
  sports cars 

2. Camel spiders …. 
  are poisonous to humans. 
  can eat bugs, snakes, and rodents (rats, mice). 
  can run as fast as 50 miles per hour. 

3. The biggest enemy of the camel spider is the…. 
  scorpion 
  caterpillars 
  bug spray 

4. How does the assassin bug keep other bugs from attacking it? 
  It hides in a hole in the ground. 
  It can run really fast. 
  It glues the bodies of dead bugs to its back. 

5. How do Japanese giant hornets sting you? 
  By putting their stinger in your arm. 
  By biting you. 
  By shooting poison into your eyes. 

6. The Japanese giant hornet mostly goes after…. 
  bees 
  assassin bugs  
  scorpions 

7)  The bullet ant …. 
  is a very tiny ant. 
  does not have a painful sting. 
  has a very painful sting. 

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