I took this at Cimetière Picpus, one of Paris smaller cemeteries, which shelters a monument to General La Fayette. I realise this is not really an original photograph, as these are very common bugs.
I find them rather good-looking though. Don’t you think they look like some sort of primitive mask?
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Claude, you took the words out of my mouth! They look like African masks and I love their colors.
Comment by kenju — July 16, 2008 @ 11:02 pm |
They’re so cute. And different from one another. I’m surprised they don’t have all the same pattern. I’ll have to study the question seriously…
Comment by Claudia — July 17, 2008 @ 5:25 am |
Hi Claude, we have thousands — millions! — of these little gendarmes or firebugs in our back yard. They seem to like living under linden trees, tilleuls, especially. They are harmless and almost never come inside the house. And I think they are pretty.
Hope your weather in Normandy has improved. We’re having some nice days in Touraine right now.
Comment by Ken — July 17, 2008 @ 6:21 am |
Nice bugs, but I wouldn’t want one ON me!
Comment by Peggy — July 17, 2008 @ 8:26 am |
They are strikingly pretty!
Comment by Monica — July 17, 2008 @ 11:59 am |
Claude
Thank you for the close-up picture. We had a whole army of them in the backyard at the gite we were at, in Gilly-les-Citeaux, last month. First we thought they were “ladybugs” but then realised that they didn’t have black dots and were told that they are called “gendarmes” by the landlord. Ken is right – they did not comeinside the house but dissapeared after a rain storm to reappear again when the sun came out the next day.
Comment by The Beaver — July 17, 2008 @ 3:57 pm |
I wonder if those firebugs are related to our fireflys or lightning bugs we have here in the south of the US.
Do those firebugs glow in the dark?
Comment by chancy — July 18, 2008 @ 3:23 am |
Never seen them in the UK. But they brought happy memories back of holidays in France. We were entranced when we first encountered them and thought like you – African masks.
Comment by Mrs K — July 18, 2008 @ 11:58 am |
I don’t think those have anything to do with fireflies. We have them here too, but I don’t think they are like this at all.
Ken, I do remember seeing loads of them at your place.
Good to know they are harmless as I find them rather pretty!
Comment by Claude — July 19, 2008 @ 11:12 pm |