Hopper

I posted this hopper to show the incredible camouflage that these fascinating insects have developed. I blipped this one at the grove this morning. The place is swarming with different types, so I should get a few blips of hoppers out of this location.

"Surely he hasn't got a grass hopper story to tell", I can hear you thinking. Well:

When I was a kid, on holiday in Barmouth, North Wales, I would trek the hills behind the house with a jam jar, to restrain the hundreds of hoppers that I would catch. I had no idea why, I just knew that it was fun and I only got to do it once a year, as there were very few hoppers around the back to back terraces of Birkenhead, where I lived.

Who would have known that the hopper catching skills that I learned as a lad would be useful in later life. I found myself many years later, creeping around my neighbor's garden in the early evening, hunting down hoppers for my pet tarantula. My neighbor hated gardening, so the overgrown brush pile was perfect for hoppers. He tried to strike a deal were I could collect hoppers as long as I mow the lawn. Ha! I like a man with a sense of humor.

More years pass and I came to work in Bandung. On our lunch time walks, we had found a golden orb web spider. We trapped it (a whole other blip for that story) and housed it in a makeshift tank in the office (more story blips). Our boss, Mr. Barton, wasn't a bad boss, but just a stickler for rules. He could be such a nagging pain if you were a couple of minutes late. Out of work, Denis was a nice guy, enjoying a beer with the rest of us. I forgave him for his strange stickler attitude in work, as it was probably his first managerial post.

One day, he caught a few of us around the hidden makeshift tank. I was thinking well that was the end of that game, but no! He immediately took an interest in what we had captured. May have been an attempt to 'get back in' with the boys, after alienating everyone, but who cares, the spider stays. He asked us what the spiders name was and quick as a flash, my mate Geoff said, "Denis, Denis". There was snot everywhere, it was so funny. Fair do's, he played along.

Within half an hour, there was a sign above the enclosure which read, DENISUS BARTONISIMUS - THE DENIS SPIDER.

Later on in the afternoon, Denis (the boss, not the spider) asked us what Denis eats. We explained that we need to go out and catch some hoppers to feed him. "well get going then, I'll give you two hours". So we did and Geoff, me, Denis and Denis were very happy.

Like I said, more Denis stories to come: Denis vs. the red tailed wasp, Denis vs. the two inch bee, the capture of Denis, the saga of the rhino beetle and probably more. None of these stories will happen until I find my spider though, so you need to wish me luck if you want the tales.

Dave