Friday, June 24, 2011

Bug Spawning on Marble

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Yesterday morning, I set my stone carving tools on my work table, noticed the dew, and bent down to blow off a few small insects from the table, and then turned around to take a look at my marble sculpture, “Gymnast.” She was covered with tiny black insects! What a sight!


Was this because of our recent rain after a long drought? Or was this just some coincidental random insect spawning? Does anyone know what kind of bug this is? They are tiny creatures with wings, not little black ants as I first suspected (but then fire ants pretty much take care of those and I am stepping in their beds far more often than I find entertaining).


I found myself more curious about what kind of bug this was than disturbed and went into the house to get my camera. And the good thing about working on a fairly large sculpture is that I have plenty of other areas that need attention. So, I worked on the base yesterday morning. The insects were almost gone during my evening carving shift (I work indoors during the scorching middle of the day). They were completely gone this morning. Any clues, anyone?



1 comment:

Kelly Borsheim Artist said...

I have the smartest friends! A couple of my Facebook pals suggested termites... check this out:
http://www.terminix.com/Termite-Control/Exterminator/Termite-or-Ant/default.aspx

My marble is up on treated wood (and so is that rusty colored metal storage car behind the art), so I hope all is well - and that the babies are just enjoying all of the mulch I put around me for back support.