Mayate Verde

The Bugs:  Outside the Box exhibit has been open for a few weeks now.  We’ve had a very successful Family Fun Day as well as multiple tours.  It is always great to see the faces of people while they look at these magnified creatures and hear the reactions of kids:  “Wow!”, “Whoa!”, “Look at that!”.  But what is even more amazing is to hear the personal stories of people and bugs.  One of the NMJC custodial staff shared her experience of growing up in Mexico.  She said that one of the bugs reminded her of bugs they would catch back in Mexico, the mayate verde.  The mayate verde, aka figeater beetle (cotinis mutabilis), is a part of the scarab beetle family and feed on pollen, nectar or petals.  They live primarily in the southwestern United States and Mexico.  They can grow up to 1.25 inches and have an iridescent green color as an adult.  They make a loud buzzing sound and are active during daylight hours.  The story she told was that the children of Mexico would catch these mayate verde and tie a rope around their neck.  They would then hold the rope as the mayate verde flew around the other end.  This was their toy and children would run around for hours trying to catch a mayate verde and fly it around on their strings.  When they were done playing they would let the mayate verde go and it flew away to live another day.  She emphasized that they were very poor growing up in Mexico, but you could tell from her smile that these were precious memories.