cicada carapace, originally uploaded by julesberry2001.

Cicada live in the earth for years, then climb up something, rip open their skins and flap away, make as much noise as possible for a bit, until one day they fall out of the sky dead, usually on James' head. Perhaps one should wear a cycling helmet after all.

This picture is of a discarded carapace, which means that the macro lens was allowed to be purchased well before the end of bug-season!! hurrah! As a result, Japan is out of recession for about the first time in a decade.