Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Today, at the fair, we had an opportunity to learn about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. An exhibit promised that - for a fee - you could enter and see all sorts of unique creatures. Well, we weren't going to pay to go inside but we sure enjoyed the freebie outside of the exhibit. To entice you inside, the exhibitor had a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach for people passing by to look at, touch, or even hold. Well, my little girl jumped right in. "Can I hold it?!?!" she exclaimed. All those around us were shocked that the tiny, little, pigtailed, 4-year-old jumped right in to hold the very thing that they themselves were scared to even look at. After getting a round of applause from those watching, she enthusiastically asked, "Mommy, can we get one?" To which everyone laughed. When we turned down the exhibitor's offer to come inside and see more, we were told, "That's OK, you brought me tons of business. Everyone wanted to see the little girl holding a giant Cockroach!"

After we left the exhibit, she told me that the cockroach looked like a big Cicada without wings. Pretty funny since I had been thinking that the whole experience kinda reminded me of this time last year when we had the invasion of the Periodical Cicadas. Most toddler's were fearful but not ours. She loved the Cicadas and cried when we told her they wouldn't be back for many, many years.

It looks like we may have a future Entomologist.