Last year, we lost Riley. Riley was our family dog. The puppy my husband and I adopted the summer we moved into our first home together. We had Riley for five years before any children came along. And in total, we had Riley in our lives for a decade. For anyone who’s had a pet, you know what kind of grief I’m talking about here. And my seven-year-old daughter Stella took it hard.
She grieved. And then her grieving turned into a guilt-inducing campaign for a new puppy. Hubby, although he adored Riley, had never been keen on having a dog in the first place. Now he was certain – no more dogs. I still felt ambivalent about whether I wanted a new dog or not.
When she sensed a puppy 
wasn’t materializing anytime soon, Stella moved on to campaigning for a guinea pig or a fish. She was really workin’ it. And I was tempted to give in, but I worried that a guinea pig or a fish would die on her and send her spiraling back into a grieving process. I spoke with several other parents and they confirmed – yep, guinea pigs and fish will die on you.
Eventually the pet campaign lost momentum. But then I started to hear about the “meal worms” that she was growing at school. What the…? I learned (thank you internet) that mealworms are the larva or mealworm beetle, a species of darkling beetle. I thought this was an amazing learning experience for the children. Until she brought them home, that is.
It was amazing in someone else’s classroom — not in my house, on my kitchen counter. Stella, on the other hand, was completely enamored with her mealworms and we allowed her to keep the lidded glass jar in her bedroom (I know, it was very kind of me to allow her to move it from my kitchen counter).
She sat and watched them all the time. Checking to see which mealworm was moving into a pupa stage and then which had completely transformed into a beetle. She was also meticulous about caring for them, continually ensuring that they had the little piece of potato or orange that was required for moisture. She even made scrapbooking pages dedicated to her mealworms, scrawled with th
e words “cute!” and “love!”
Yes, the mealworm had moved from an interesting science project to her new cherished pet. Oh dear, not much I can do about it now, I thought.
Then the inevitable happened. Stella walked up to me, carrying the mealworm jar. Her sweet little face looked very sad and there was water collecting in her eyes. She bravely informed me that one of her beetles was dead.
I tried to provide some kind of comfort … cycle of life, that kind of thing. She seemed to be taking it quite well. Then she took a deep breath and wiped her sleeve across her eyes.
“It’s okay, Mommy. You’re right. They’re just moving to the next stage because after the beetles mate, they die.”
“Oh, I see. That’s too bad,” I told her.
But here’s the kicker — the response that made me think, “Yep, puppy might be nice.”
Stella then continued on to say, “Well, it is kind of exciting, actually. Because when they die, they leave behind 500 eggs.”
Gah!
Photo Credit
Cartoon from school project by Julie’s daughter.
“Mealworms” © Ric Bessin, University of Kentucky Entomology. All rights reserved.
Sounds like you need to move them to a bigger home! Good luck with that 🙂 Great story and I look forward to experiencing this in a few years (not). Hopefully Cedar (our dog) keeps ticking for many years to come.
Oh me oh my! We have VERY exciting news here. The pupas have hatched!!! And there are tons of them. Try not to be too jealous.
Sorry – I’ve been given a clear correction. These are not pupas. These are larvae. (Basically, little tiny worms and lots of them. Oh joy.)
hahaha… Shudder!!
My, you handled it that well… there may be method to her madness.
LOL OMG this is hillarious! I have to show this to my husband who is against a dog. We also have a child who begs for a pet on a daily basis!
great read! thanks for the laugh!
” I still felt ambivalent about whether I wanted a new dog or not.” …………Define ambivalent.
funny, funny 😉
Oh, and hedgehogs eat them too.
I have taught grade two. I have seen and even TOUCHED the mealworms. (even the larva – ugh!) But my favourite story is of the boy who agreed to take EVERYONE’s home and three months later his mother heard a rustling noise in the closet…masses of teeming larva and mealworms. Accccccccckkkkk!
Julie’s worst nightmare. She just started swiping the imaginary mealworms off herself as she read that story.
I’m going to have nightmares tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad this little tale has brought a couple of chuckles!
Here’s an extra little bit for you … for a “holiday” I took her to the Insectarium in Montreal. (I KNOW! Mother of the Year, right?!) and as we were leaving the gift shop, Stella notices that they are selling edible bugs. And guess what they are? Mealworms of course. All fried up and served in a cute little box. She was NOT impressed.
hahaha !
that IS a great story! i wonder if i can get some mealworms in korea……………
Good story, Julie. By the way,they make great fishing bait, too.
Hi Julie – what a great story – from all angles. These moments are so precious – I am inspired to document some of mine.
Ah, the meal worm experience…our’s lasted 5 months and I’ve never seen my son take such incredibly good care of something. We all actually fell in love with Ovechkin (he named it) and were all a little sad when he died. Luckily, there was no mate for Ovechkin so we had no worries about Ovechkin Jr’s making an appearance.
He begs for a pet of any kind. Allergies for some members of our household keep this from being a reality – he has pointed out that fish and lizards don’t cause allergies….I continue to resist.
After reading this though, my resolve is weakening.
Thanks for a lift to my day!
Hers have names too … there are 4 still alive. But unlike your family, she is the only one in love with them! Ovechkin – that cracks me up!
Egads! I remember doing a biology lab with meal worms. Hideous wretched things. Well, at least they don’t need to be walked early in the morning. And thanks for making me laugh out loud, as always.
On a shameless side note, I have been putting together a blog post on why NOT to get a dog….I’m a bit afraid to post it though as I know there are a lot of dog lovers out there.
That sounds like the kind of thing my dad would have wanted. “Dad, can we have a puppy? NO! Now, go play with your meal worms, sweetie….”
Thanks all for the comment love!
Fellow parents – learn thee from my experience and go for the dog! 🙂 But seriously, these beetles are STILL alive. (And no, Trish, they have not escaped …but I am going to double-check that lid RIGHT NOW!)
Ha! I love it, I can hear her voice! We’ve enjoyed the mealworm-on-the-kitchen-counter for two out of three of our kids….what a shame when they die….the little container disappears after that….we were lucky to have escaped the egg phase!
Oh…my…goodness. You are a brave woman, Julie. I guess I should anticipate a similar science exploration with T at some point. I had images of the beetles/worms escaping and the hilarity that ensued when they ended up in the macaroni salad — did I dream that, or was it really a Brady Bunch episode? Anyway, 500 eggs would have me thinking puppy too, even with J allergic.
Good luck with that!! 🙂
Love it, she is going to make your life a continuous adventure! 😀 My hubby is just like yours, not a dog person, but I can’t live without a canine companion. The grief part sucks though, rotten beasts worm their way into your affections. 😉
I can totally relate to this post. My children have latched on to “Clever” the squirrel in the front tree. Boy does it ever tug at my heart. We are weakening and starting to consider adopting a dog. Consider! Good luck with your 500 new “‘pets”. 🙂
HA HA HA
She got you!
Cute story, Julie!