I Am a Boring Insect
I’m just a small, boring insect.
There’s nothing exciting about me.
I don’t have a hobby or interests,
I just love decaying, dead trees.
For most of my life I’m a baby,
a larva, just chewing away,
carving out tunnels through sapwood,
doing nothing but nibbling all day
and then I pupate. I’m an adult!
I’ve rainbow-bright, glistening wings.
Jewel Beetle, that’s what they call me,
desired by both artists and kings.
I still mostly spend my time feeding
on nectar and leaves, so you see
I’m just a small, boring insect.
There’s nothing exciting about me.
There’s nothing exciting about me.
I don’t have a hobby or interests,
I just love decaying, dead trees.
For most of my life I’m a baby,
a larva, just chewing away,
carving out tunnels through sapwood,
doing nothing but nibbling all day
and then I pupate. I’m an adult!
I’ve rainbow-bright, glistening wings.
Jewel Beetle, that’s what they call me,
desired by both artists and kings.
I still mostly spend my time feeding
on nectar and leaves, so you see
I’m just a small, boring insect.
There’s nothing exciting about me.
* Jewel Beetles are actually far from boring, with their beautiful iridescent colours, They are a large family of beetles, just one of a huge number of different wood boring beetle species and families. Wood boring beetles play an important part in the ecosystem of forests as they help break down dead and decaying trees but some are pests, destroying crops and attacking healthy trees.
This poem is copyright (©) Jacqueline Shirtliff 2026
About the Writer
Jacqueline Shirtliff
Jacqueline is a poet and primary school teacher on the Isle of Man. One of her favourite things is helping children to love poetry and reading and encouraging them to be writers themselves. She lives in a rose-covered cottage near the sea and enjoys gardening, crochet, and playing the tuba and harp, but not all at the same time! You can read some of her other poems in The Caterpillar, Tyger Tyger, Northern Gravy, The Toy, and Little Thoughts Press.
