I'm (most definitely not) a celebrity, get me out of here!

** WARNING- if you are at all squeamish about bugs, then I would probably not read this**

 This short post is dedicated to all the delightful critters that call Iracambi their home. I'm 2 weeks in and this is hands down the biggest challenge for me personally. Having lived in London for 10 years where the most I've had to cope with is the odd wasp and spider, I am now residing somewhere where insects are just part of the fabric of daily life.

 Here are some of the exotic specimens that can be found in the forest, the kitchen, the bathroom, the office (basically everywhere). And no, that is definitely not me holding them. I'm not that brave. Full bug handling credits go to Keira, our volunteer from Canada.








I would love to say that I've fully acclimatised, but that would be a lie. While I can appreciate the beauty of thing like the beetles, grasshoppers and the preying mantis I don't think the moths and I are ever going to be best friends (for scale, the one above was nearly the size of my hand!).  I just can't trust anything that darts around that fast.


 I've had some small victories though, including capturing not one, but FOUR spiders and releasing them back into the forest, and rescuing a beetle from drowning in the sink. So it's all about baby steps..and mosquito repellent. Lots of it.

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