After two articles about gifting, it is appropriate that I tell you what my daughter got me for Father’s Day. I had taken my children out to jump in puddles when she found a giant beetle flopping on its back! Now, the last good bug I found looked rather sinister, so I contented myself with taking its picture. Good thing, too, because the Assassin Bug carries a parasite that causes Chagas disease, a disorder that does damage to major organs and can be fatal. But this friendly beetle looked harmless. In fact, I would learn later that the Histeridae beetle is commonly known as the Clown beetle.
My initial impulse (it tells you a lot about me, I suppose, that this is the very first thing I thought) was to paint her shell a pretty color and glue a tether on her back so that I could wear her like a living broach. It turns out, however, that she is a pretty shy girl, so a tether is not even necessary; she likes to hide under my collar or in my shirt pocket. I have named her Phoebe and feed her apple cores and little bugs. What a perfect gift for Father’s Day: a new family member!