One humid summer night, a lone beetle made his way into a strange, dark new world.    

Other than a few ants and an occasional Pholcus, it is a pretty quiet place.  Easy terrain and a plentiful food supply scattered about, this could be home.  Little did he know what lies ahead..

Able to flee from the little hands w/ cups, steal a Cheerio in a single bound, and fly into the light and still manage not to get burnt..

A few weeks ago we had several uninvited visitors in the house.  We had an influx of these beetles in our kitchen.  Of course I was thinking.. oh my, what kind of bugs are these and why oh why are they in my kitchen?!

We did a little research on the What’s That Bug website (awesome!) and found it was a mealworm beetle.  Come to find out they’re coming from our garage (I’m hoping not to be the one that finds the nest.)

Between the kids catching them and momma & daddy flushing them, we diminished the population. (Shhh! don’t tell!)

A few days ago my DH said that one had flown into a plastic caddy in the kitchen.  I totally forgot about it, but my DH kept commenting on how it was still in there.  Yesterday he mentioned it again, and I finally went to go see it - and it was still alive.  He bashfully admitted that he had been feeding it and giving it water (and watching it drink)!  What a sweety!

So we officially decided to keep this bug as a pet.  I got an empty applesauce jar and put in sticks and a few cheerios.  I wet a paper towel and squeezed out the excess water and put it in for him to drink (if you were to put in a bowl of water it would drown.)

Since he so graciously cared for the beetle, DH got the privilege of naming our new pet.

Introducing… DU-DU-DU-DAH!

Ned, the Mealworm Beetle!!

For your viewing pleasure, a picture of Neds lair:

Neds picture coming soon..