Warning: wriggly thing pictures ahead!
This morning, the three of us woke up in excitement because today was the soil change day for our larva! It can only be done every 3-4 months, so this occasion is something that we are always waiting for. It has been almost a year since we bought the larva, and today is the third soil change.
The larva is growing slower now, the size is just a little bit bigger than the last time (March 2010), but the body is a lot firmer. It also moved a lot when I held it, and when I put him on Sidra’s hand, it bit Sidra’s hand! I took it from Sidra’s hand and it bit my palm too! The larva has a pair of little mandibles that are used for digging the soil. I guess he was trying to ‘dig’ on Sidra’s and my hand. It was just a little pinch though, no serious damage has done.
My husband still refused to touch the larva, he said that he couldn’t touch it because he was busy taking pictures. Owkay. But I know that deep down his heart, he loves the larva too.
More action pictures in my flickr set!
//Song credit: Be Gentle with Me by The Boy Least Likely To//
That thing is so cute…. in a weird, gross way LOL
That is amazing. I thought it was done in photoshop at first. You are a braver person than me, I wouldn’t go near something that big. Mind you I can’t even pick up a small spider!
Wow! This is the most unusual pet I’ve ever seen. Great photos and great video too! thanks for posting.
I am… stunned. My kid will think this is the Coolest. Thing. Ever.
OMG! I love your larva so much! It’s like an Ohmu!!!!
I love Ohmu! It has beetle larva legs, giant pillbugs body, and adorable personality! ^o^
(laughs) Oh, my lord. I didn’t actually think it was TRUE!
At an indie theater here in America, they’re playing this documentary called “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo”. It’s about Japan’s fascination with growing and keeping insects as pets. I chose not to buy a ticket because I thought the movie might be blowing things out of proportion! Hahahaha…That is seriously the biggest larvae and happiest smiley face about a larvae I’ve ever seen in my life.
So..question: ….What does it turn into??
If I met one of this larva before I came to Japan, I would probably run for life! But they’re indeed very popular here, every boys (and men) love insects, so I finally see the light hahaha.
If everything hopefully goes well, it will turn into a giant beetle, about 14-17 cm in length like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_beetle. Isn’t it cool?
Ohhh I’m really excited that there might be more than a larva soon! We just started a worm bin to compost all our kitchen scraps. We’ve been checking the worms every day I’m sure they’re annoyed with me by now.
I’m imagining the worms get annoyed by your peeking on them, that’s too funny ^o^ I want to have a compost bin too, it is pretty useful and fun as well!
this is the greatest pet I’ve ever seen!!
I might be nervous to hold it too, but that’s fascinating! Thanks for sharing!
O gosh, how exciting! I love to see the beetles show here, but they never show how the larvas look like… I couldn’t imagine that it can become this big.
Your photos and the video are great.
Never seen such big larva! 😮
It’s adorable! :DDDDDDD
Really cute video as well!
I’m happy that you find it adorable too!
Gosh! It’s so huge now! I can never imagine holding onto an insect..plus this is huge! Lovely post!:D
You make me smile whenever I read your latest posting! Please, please keep doing what you are doing.
Your family is precious.
Glad to be able to make someone smile! ^_^
Wow, you are the best mom ever! Herakuresu is huge!! And I don’t think that video could be any cuter. What a perfect song choice! -Trisha
Wow! Its huge now! So cool!
Completely taken aback! that’s amazing.
OMG!…the larva is soo cute! I’ll bet Hercules is very happy with the new soil =) BTW..nice videoclip, luv it!