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So August - today we have Wii-Grill festival. I have hiked up and down the mountain and seen many people with wine glasses
but not a single grill on the way. What kind of festival is this?
The Wii-Grill Festival is a culinary hike that leads from Visp up to Ober Stalden
And most people think - Wii-Grill - there must be a lot of wine and Grill for barbeque, but that is completely wrong
Well, the wine is there, I have seen it!
Yes the wine is there, and there is indeed a barbeque at the top as well, but Wii-Grill has a very different meaning
And we chose Wii-Grill, which is the name from Valais for an insect that is about 7 to 8 centemeters long,
I have a picture of it here. It is an insect which is very useful to us
We chose it, because there are many pests in the vineyard while the Wii-Grill is a useful insect
It is useful because it feeds on the different pests
Wii-Grill is the name for it in the Valais, but it is more generally called mantis (Gottesanbeterin)
Mantis is a name that has its origins with the Greeks where it is called mantis religeous
That means 'the one who prays to God'
And why is the insect called so. It has two forarms that are held in this position
and one has the feeling that it would be praying
and that is where the name comes from. This originated with the Greeks, then it was known among the Romans
There even exists a wine called Mantis that comes from the old Greek name
So the insect is sitting in this position waiting for its prey and when it comes close enough it catches it and eats it
Then there is something unique about this insect
It is a useful insect, but like so many times in the nature there is also something terrible about it
And it is so when this insect mates, it is so wild and excited - the whole thing takes about 20 minutes
And in the passion and heat of the moment the female insect eats the male animal
But not completely. It only eats its head off
And so it is in the nature most of the time
I asked a number of people along the way if they had seen this insect or if I could find it somewhere
They said no and most of them had actually never seen it. Do they really exist?
Fourteen days ago, when I was working in my vineyard nearby in Saint German, I saw a Wii-Grill about this bit
That is however a very warm day. There are animals that are out in the rain, and some in the night and some prefer the sunshine
Today we have yet to see the sun and I have never seen a Wii-Grill in rain like today
The Wii-Grill they like the heat, they like warm temperature
And then they are hidden in the bushes. It is mostly so that one finds these insects when one is not looking for them
OK - in that case I will not go looking and will see if I find one
Today the chances of finding one are very small August - thank you very much