Saturday, September 23, 2023

Shellbug hunting, part deux

Yes, shellbug season is in full swing here in the Bootheel.  Cicadas start singing in late July around here, but the shells don't start appearing until September or so.  I never outgrew my love for shellbug hunting, and as usual I've got a little buddy to help me with the search.  I'm hoping he'll have more luck than Cara Raelean did.
His name is Sammy Sloth, and he's an interesting combo of stuffed animal and Cabbage Patch Kid.  He's about the size of Owen Presley, my all-vinyl boy, and...and he can suck his thumb!!!  
Sammy hails from Babyland General, per his packaging, though he could at one time also be found at Target with his friends Ruby Fox and Sage Deer, and he can still be found on the Babyland General website.  I like Cabbage Patch Kids and I freaking LOVE sloths, so this was the perfect little guy for me.  He reminds me a little of the Koosas, which were pets for the Cabbies during the Coleco era.  Koosas are weird little goobers, but then again, so are Cabbies.  Indeed, one of these animorph Cabbies is a shark!  I may get him too, because when's the last time any of y'all saw a doll dressed as a shark???

Hey look, Sammy found a shellbug!  At last!
LOL, my grandmother HATED these!  Grandpa would pluck them off the trees and put them on her, and it drove her nuts.  I'll admit that they're a little creepy, especially when their eyes are hollowed out.  Indeed, the full-grown insects look a little like some critter from another planet.

I should probably address terminology here, since I confused the snot out of Xanadu with my last post.  Tam, I think you also said you'd never heard the term "shellbug," and there's a good reason for that.  The nicknames for these insect hulls varys almost as much as the nicknames for the insects that make them, but "shellbug" is a family term that my five-year-old mind cobbled together.  They're shells, they're bugs (or they were), hence the term "shellbug"!  My playground friends called 'em the standard "husks" or "skins," and most of my older friends call them "locust husks" or "dry fly husks."  All of 'em work.

Love and insects,
RagingMoon1987

4 comments:

  1. Is it bad that I think Sammy looks even cuter with his thumb in his mouth, considering the future dental work that can result from real life thumb sucking?
    Signed, Treesa

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    1. LOL, I know! When babies suck on binkies or their thumbs it looks so cute, but at the same time I know that can do a number on their teeth. Good thing dolls don't have to worry about such things!

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  2. Sammy and Owen make a cute couple RM. So now Sammy's found one what are you going to do with it? I hope you don't collect them! Horrible little things!!
    Note to Treesa ~ I sucked my thumb as a kid and didn't need any dental work to straighten my teeth. I think it's an old wives tale. :)
    Big hugs to you both,
    X

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    1. LOL, I left it on the tree; if a large collection of those husks is left to stagnate they start to reek after awhile.

      Regarding thumb-sucking, my sister and I were suckers as well and our teeth were fine, but I had friends in school who needed braces because of thumb-sucking. So I think it may be a case-by-case sort of thing.

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