Page 10 of Lovebug
“First, watch the ‘hell,’” I say. “And second, that’s the beautiful thing about books, Dante. Or even the great Google! You don’t have to wonder about something for years. Knowledge is always at our fingertips. We just need to seek it out!”
“Whatevs,” he says as though he’s already past caring. But I don’t let that deter me. I launch into my prepared speech about this gorgeous establishment. There are few things I love more than singing this place’s praises.
“Dante, an arboretum is a botanical garden of sorts devoted to trees. You’ll be learning plenty about the many different tree varieties we have here, both evergreen and deciduous, so don’t you worry about that! But here at BCA, we are an arboretumanda nature reserve. As a nature reserve, it is a huge part of our mission to protect the planet's natural biodiversity. We do this in a few ways. The flora and fauna you’ll find here are—”
Suddenly, Dante lets out a scream that sounds an awful lot like my mother’s tea kettle when it reaches a boil.
“Get it away from me! Get it away from me!” he screeches.
A gorgeous bluish-purple dragonfly hovers above him, her shimmery iridescent wings beating in the sky.
“Whoa, Dante. Whoa! You’re fine. She won’t hurt you.” I try to comfort him. Dante has been coming to BCA for years, but he’s a city kid through and through. Each year, he comes this way to live with his grandparents for the summer and gets a crash course in all things nature. It always takes him a week or two to settle in.
He starts swatting at her. “Shoo, shoo!”
“Dante, no! No swatting or shooing the insects, please.”
“But what if it bites me?” he says as he continues to swat and duck and generally freak out.
“Relax! She won’t. Dragonfliescanbite, but they usually don’t unless they feel threatened, and even then, they rarely break the skin.”
“Ugh. I hate bugs.” April scoffs.
“You won’t by the time I’m through with you this summer!” I say with glee. “I’m going to show you how magical and endlessly fascinating these little creatures can be. Till then, I don’t want to see anyone bullying the bugs. Try to remember, we need them. And we’re living in their world, not the other way around. They’re just being kind enough to share it with us.”
I lift my hand up to the sky, and the beautiful dragonfly perches happily on my index finger.
“Dude, she’s like Snow White! Though instead of catching dwarves on her fingers, she catches bugs!” Dante says.
“Snow White caughtbirdson her fingers, dumbass, not dwarves!” April fires back.
“Hey,” I scold gently. “Quit it with the dumbass stuff. We have to start modeling the language we want the kids to use when they join us tomorrow.” I turn back to my tiny, fluttery-winged visitor and smile at her. “Gosh, doesn’t she just… take your breath away?”
“How do you know it’s a she?” Emily asks.
Yay, a teaching moment! I live for these.
“Oh, well, see how her belly is smooth? If she were a he, there would be a bump on the belly.”
“Yeah, there would! Bow-chicka-wow-wow!” Dante responds like the typical sixteen-year-old boy he is, apparently completely recovered from his near-death experience.
I give the little odonate a boost up to the sky, and she flies away.
April watches her go. “Is it true that female dragonflies fake their deaths to avoid being harassed by male dragonflies for sex?”
“Of course not! That’s crazy!” Emily says in a rare moment of challenging April.
“Yet completely true,” I say.
“Whaaat?” A chorus of voices echoes around me.
Gosh, I love blowing young minds with bug trivia.
I continue. “What April said is one hundred percent true. When a female dragonfly encounters an unwanted male suitor mid-flight, she will often dive to the ground and crash land, then lay motionless on her back until he gives up and flies away.”
“Whoa! Cool!”
“Yup! See? Aren’t bugs fascinating? The insect world is full of amazing little details like this. April, I’m impressed you knew this particular tidbit! You’ve been studying up on entomology to prep for camp this year, huh? Good for you! Not that bug sexual behavior is something we should be sharing with the kids, just for the record.”
