Ectotherms, really bug me.

Pun intended. By that, I mean ectotherms of the insect variety really bother me. It never fails, this time of year they are out in full force gathering around sources of heat such as porch lights. If I'm quick enough I can make it in and out with only a minimal amount of these ectothermic creatures making into my house. Every evening when I come home they are buzzing around, all over the window and door. Insects of all sizes. I've see roaches, beatles, junebugs, the occasional dragon fly, moths, grass hoppers, crickets and many many many other insects, of which whose names I am unaware of.

I wish the android application market for phones carried an insect identification app. There is an app called Shazam, in which your phone can just listen to a song and then identify the name of the song and artist. Well I wish there was an app in which I can just take a picture of a insect and in a matter of seconds I can have all the information I want, including it's identification. However most times I am uninterested in the bugs name and am more interested in how they react to a spray of Raid. Yes, there are times I will purposely go out side with the sole intent of spraying around the porch lights. I am surprised that I don't see many spiders spinning their webs around the porch as there seems to be quite a variable buffet for them every evening. But then again, I'm sure I'd spray them too.

As much as they bug me as I'm trying to get in and out of my house in the evening, these ectotherms are interesting creatures. I find it fascinating how a creature's environment affects its body temperature and metabolism. I am reminded of an experiment we conducted in my ecology course, in which we placed insects of various sizes in a refrigerator. After a good amount of time we took them out and they were unable to move. We observed the time it took for these creatures to take up heat from their environment and start moving again.

So basically the underlying thought of me stating that ectotherms really bug me, is that I wish it was holiday season. So that along with turkey, football, the semester ending, Christmas and New years, colder temperatures will make passage into my house a lot more comfortable.