Under the shadow, came the bug from my past

If you think this weird bug (from the photo above) comes all the way from the Black Hole to invade and take over our planet, you are off the target by a zillion year. My uncanny imagination says, this bug possess potent aphrodisiac properties that can boost some power to young-at-heart wannabes. Not that this theory has been proven by any sane human  or I recommend you to test this object of desire in the comfort of your bedroom, but in the time of uncertainty like now everything is possible.

Let me first introduce you to Cik Ru or Cik Mek (Ganu speak) or antlion (mat salleh speak). The physical form of this bug and the name Cik Ru don't strike  any resemblance to anything that will ignite puberty hormone furiously or raised  eyebrows of any kids on the street. The name Cik Mek however   doesn't do it justice to all the Cik Mek molek out there. Perhaps Mek Poghong is more appropriately named and given to this bug. But Mek Poghong after some 'tarbiah' and proper guidance by Iman muda for example, can be transformed into a Cik Mek Molek or even Cik Mek Berjuruh (a super courteous and well-mannered lady).

That bug was actually very special as  it brought back many  fond memories during my childhood time.   The fact that It had  wasted a lot of my childhood time sharpening my 'fishing' skill  under the shadow of my late grandfather's old house has never erased this bug from my memory. Fishing Cik Ru out from their sand pit which is also a trap was insanely a popular childhood pastime activity during my younger days. To see Cik Ru in person, one has to 'fish' them out from the sand pit by tickling the sand  pit by our own hair or a grass or anything that can tickle (by doing this, the antlions thought the prey has fallen into their pit). When they emerge from the pit, we scooped them out and tied them with our hair and again using this captured antlion we lured another antlion from their sandy dungeon. This process will go on and on until we were tired playing or tired of each other companion  or our mother called us for our usual ikang singgang sambal belancan lunch break. This  fishing activity could last through out the whole day.

What is more interesting, Cik Ru is actually a larvae, part of the life cycle  to another interesting insect known as lacewing. Not until last week, after 40 over years I thought this alien creature was some kind of sand bug that dug a sand pit, eat ant and then it completed its life cycle by getting old or having some terminal illnesses like falling in love with Najwa Latif. It was my youngest son who pointed out a story from a book I bought him a few years back that featured kids playing with antlions that made me realized the life cycle of an antlion. We can surely learn a lot from small kids and we should always do.

Antlions look ferocious and grotesque with its fusiform body and large mandibels. They however pose no threat to human or drag you into their sand pit unless some kind of mutation takes place and transform them 100 times larger than their normal size.  I always dream  to ride this bug to my office and occasionally scare off uncivilized mat rempit. Nowadays, it is very hard to find antlion as kampung houses are now made of concrete and modern houses don't spare any space  for antlion to lepak or settle down with their sand pit bungalows. 

This week I am off to Kota Bharu, I hope  Cik Mek Molek of Kelate are still around to greet me and bring back the nostalgic feeling spending time under the dark shadow of the old house. 

Exclusive and elusive sand pit bungalows of antlions. Surprisingly enough, I found it near the back stairs of my new office. I think they choose this strategic spot for a special reason too i.e reporting office staffs who smoke during office hour to the head of the department (the whole campus is now a smoke-free zone).