THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608130159
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: COASTAL JOURNAL
SOURCE: MARY REID BARROW
LENGTH: 94 lines
Stella Bondi was surprised the other morning when she stepped out of her front door to find a huge, dead beetle lying upside down in her driveway.
The khaki green creature with black spots was 2 1/4 inches long and it looked ferocious because it had single upper and lower ``horns'' on its head that looked as though they could pinch.
All the folks at O'Brien & Gere Engineers Inc., where Bondi works as a design drafter, were fascinated by the big weird beetle, too. Bondi has it perched on the top of her computer for everyone to see.
Turns out the critter was an especially large male unicorn beetle whose ``horns'' are mainly decorative. The female unicorn doesn't appear to have horns at all. Although fearsome looking, the big beetles are harmless.
Unicorns are in the scarab family, the family of beetles that was sacred to the Egyptians. They are not seen often because even though they have wings, they are adapted mainly for living on the ground.
A 2-POUND CUCUMBER was Alan Pocta's garden surprise this summer. ``The thing got away from me,'' Pocta said.
The big cuke was grown from National Pickling Cucumber seed and, although it is only 8 inches long, it's 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Pocta wants to compare notes with anyone who has had a cucumber grow that large. Call him at 340-4414.
The 69th Street Irregulars, a loosely confederated group of neighbors who hold vegetable competitions among themselves, has its first big tomato entry, a 1-pound, 5.65-ounce tomato grown by Irregular Carl Sewell.
A PAIR OF WRENS that built a nest in Carl Cahill's canoe in Chesapeake didn't miss a beat in reconnecting with their babies even after the youngsters had gone on a 50-mile round trip, staying away from home for 24 hours.
The fledglings' adventure began when Cahill loaded his canoe, which had been sitting in the yard unused for several months, on the car. He headed to Sandbridge to go fishing with his grandchildren. When Cahill unloaded the canoe the next morning, a nest and four baby birds tumbled out. Close to flying, the little birds scattered and Cahill was able to catch only two.
At his grandson Dylan Arnold's direction, Cahill called Waverley Traylor at Wildlife Care, 463-8218, for advice. Traylor said to put the nest and birds back in the canoe and put the canoe back in the same place in the back yard. After fishing several hours, Cahill drove back to Chesapeake, nest, canoe, babies and all.
When Cahill got home, the youngsters heard their mother call, hopped out of the nest and disappeared into the bushes for a reunion.
``On Friday, two days later,'' Cahill wrote, ``the two baby birds appeared on our patio in company of their parents.''
MY DOG SALLY and I are truly sympatico this summer. I have discovered two miracles that have made my life, and hers, much happier. One is a No-Pull Halter, made by Four Paws, that I purchased at Owl Creek Pet Hotel, the kennel where Sally boards.
The odd-looking halter puts pressure under Sally's front legs when she pulls rather than around her neck. The contraption worked instantly. She no longer lunges after the UPS truck, a true marvel, or strains when she sees other big dogs. Her general demeanor is even more ladylike and what's really good for her, she doesn't gag and hack as she did when she wore a choke collar.
The other summer miracle is Frontline, a flea and tick spray that I got from my veterinarian. Sally is very allergic to fleas and one bite could get her scratching until she was bloody. Frontline, a long lasting treatment, kills fleas and ticks when they come in contact with her fur, even before they bite.
The directions say one spraying can work up to three months, but I found once a month works best. And it keeps on working no matter whether she goes in the ocean, gets a bath or gets soaked in the rain.
Frontline has proved more successful for us than the new pill that prevents fleas from breeding. Although that also worked, with Frontline, Sally doesn't run the risk of picking up fleas outside and having them bite her.
A RED FOX PUT ON A SHOW for diners at Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar in Acredale recently, reported Sherry Allen in an e-mail. ``We were seated near a window,'' she wrote, ``watching a thrush and finches in the bushes outside when a red fox came out of the brush and went after the thrush. Many in the restaurant saw him and were surprised. The thrush flew off and the fox sauntered away.''
After the column on red foxes at False Cape, another reader also left a message about the family of red foxes she had been seeing in the Elbow Road area. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know
about Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555.
Enter category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet
address: mbarrow(AT)infi.net. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARTY[sic] REID BARROW
Stella Bondi holds the unicorn beetle she found in her driveway.
Unicorns are in the scarab family, the beetles Egyptians held
sacred. by CNB