It was a hot on the day that I found a stink bug; as a child I always thought of stink bugs as more beetle-like and extravagant than the small-headed, rather angular things that walk around gardens doing very little in particular. Perhaps I’d just confused them with bombardier beetles who, despite their dramatic common name, are not participants in well-synchronized Air Force maneuvers over enemy territories. Stink bugs—also known as shield bugs—are rather…well…mild mannered, and a bit camera shy. Like most insects, they’re extravagant in their own ways, and their common shield-shaped carapace is their distinguishing mark. Most such creatures are green and red, and vegetarian in nature, but a few are predatory. All of them produce defensive aldehyde-based predator deterrents. And they don’t stand still when you point a camera at them. I found this specimen in the downtown core of Chicago: quite a feat since there’s very little greenery there, and what plants manage to grow in that region of the city might not fall into the category of actual living things if you judge them by their over-manicured appearance. Few things eat what grows downtown, and so it was a surprise to see an ambulatory shield making its way through a hanging pot overflowing with flowers I can’t think to name. They were red. I know that much. They didn’t have much of a smell. I know that much too. And a single stink bug was the only non-plant resident in any of the pots I’d seen. Based on that alone I think what I saw was not a stink bug resident at all, but a migratory insect on its way somewhere else…perhaps somewhere important. Insects do always seem to be on their way to some important meeting just beyond the range of human understanding. I’ve always liked these little critters, though I’m more familiar with the green ones. The brownish/tan-ish specimens are not uncommon, but they are—at times—harder to spot. That I even saw this one at all is a surprise to me, but then it was moving across the vivid green surface of a leaf, thus proving that urban camouflage doesn’t always work. I’ve seen these in the Czech Republic, and in Germany. The one I saw on a hot day in Chicago was—as is typical of six-legged things—supremely indifferent to all but instinct and appetite. As it is cold here in Chicago, and rather boring, partly due to the featureless gray stuff that we call sunlight in winter, I’ve decided to post a picture from last summer. I took this photo just outside of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, while Corey—somewhere behind me—found himself entranced by oversized bronze heads on pedestals. I was rather creeped out by those heads (though one of them had a wasp’s nest in its left nostril.) Dead industrialists probably deserve monuments in their honor, but the idea of oversized busts set a little bit too high to read as busts just doesn’t seem a fitting tribute to me. If I want to see a hero (even though I may have a different perception of heroism) I don’t really want to see up a hero’s nostrils—with or without a wasp’s nest…and so that’s actually how I found this stink bug. I’m sure Corey will post the mounted bronze heads at some point in the future, but until then, here’s my take on an interesting part of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week. I hope to catch up on viewing and commenting myself this week, and so if I’ve missed anyone’s gallery recently, I hope to catch up by at least next Friday.