worlds in an acorn

 

inside the shell and under the cap lives the hint of an oak tree

or sometimes weevils grazing on the soft insides

and sometimes an entire colony of tiny ants

 

cicada

 

fight for life

cicada struggling with a wasp

stands no chance

 

(by julia mlynarek)

 

weevils

 

colored like the earth

moving slowly on the ground

no more flight for them

 

(by julia mlynarek)

diagnostic characters

 

to give a newly discovered species its identity and immortal name

we tear out its distinctive genitalia to macerate and draw them

you have to be cruel to be kind

flies that cannot swim

 

to the fly laying at the bottom of my pan trap

why were you attracted to yellow

when there is no yellow in the rainforest

 

(by neal evenhuis)

he can’t wear long pants

 

Campsicnemus magius

has incredibly complex worm-like processes on his legs

yet he somehow does not trip over himself

 

(by neal evenhuis)

periodical living

 

thirteen years below

waiting for the silent sign

dig, moult, sing, mate, die

 

(by paul manning)

phorid identity crisis

 

if i were a coffin fly

i’d rather be called a scuttle fly

it sounds more like i have boundless energy

 

(by neal evenhuis)

 

june beetle

 

up from the darkness

bumbling fliers in the night

drums on the window

 

flightiness

 

damselfly patches

you can find them flying there

quickly disappear

 

(by julia mlynarek)