Who needs a dog or a cat when you can have a bug as a pet? Rufus is Ernie's pet lightning bug in the Sesame Street Pet Show book, which the boys love. So it came as no surprise when the boys showed me their pet bug, Squirty. The adorable Squirty is a Box Elder bug.
My 5-year old explained that Squirty was flying from the kitchen window to the living room window where he picked him up. Elmo (my mom) poked some holes in a jar for Squirty's new home.
"I will keep him until summer comes then I'll let him go so he can find his friends." My 5-year old explained after I asked him what we should do with Squirty. After all, Squirty is a wild bug that would like to be set free. Apparently, my 5-year old is wise to the effect of February weather in Iowa on bugs. So we will keep Squirty safe and sound for another 3 months.
The pet chores for Squirty are minimal. My husband picked up some dry pieces of wood for him to munch on. We put a couple droplets of water through the air holes every few days. The boys check on him daily, and when we went to visit our parents over the weekend Squirty came with us. However, we forgot him in the car. It's a good thing it didn't get too cold. Just enough cold to slow him down, but not enough to do lasting damage.
Bugs are not my favorite, but I'm glad my boys are interested in them. I'm thankful Squirty wasn't a spider, and hopeful that they find a Monarch caterpillar next time. I'm also a little worried about what to do with other bugs around the house in the future. I would normally squish them, but instead they might be more Squirtys.
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