A century-old entomological mystery solved
December 1, 2020 9:36 AM   Subscribe

 
I just finished reading that in the paper. It was amazing that the leading experts on stick insects barely ever see them in the wild. Amazing until I looked at that picture, smugly saw the leaf insect, then read the caption that said there were NINE in the picture.
posted by acrasis at 9:50 AM on December 1, 2020 [11 favorites]


I thought for sure that “could I make it any more obvious” was the phrase coming after that semicolon.
posted by mhoye at 9:51 AM on December 1, 2020 [13 favorites]


Apparently they're very common in my area! I've seen... uh... 4? It's always a real treat.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:52 PM on December 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


(Oops, stick insects I mean, AKA walking sticks. Hadn't read TA yet.)
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:54 PM on December 1, 2020


This is cool!
posted by freethefeet at 11:57 PM on December 1, 2020


There was a kid in the same pre-kindergarden nature class I was in who upon seeing pictures of stick and leaf insects in a book decided that they should definitely team up and work together.

How right he was.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:39 AM on December 2, 2020 [1 favorite]


When things get back to normal, head to Montréal in the late spring/early summer, when it's not too hot, and check out the Insectarium de Montréal. It's part of the Jardin botanique de Montréal and you can make a day of wandering the gardens and looking at bugs. I had to talk my partner into going to the Insectarium while we were at the botanical gardens and it was worth it.

Then rent a Bixi, ride down the separated bike lane on Rue Rachel past Parc La Fontaine and you'll be in the Plateau and worked up a big appetite for either poutine from La Banquise or if you're feeling decadent foie gras from Au Pied de Cochon. Then head up to Mile End and have some beers at Dieu du Ciel!

Man, I miss Montreal.
posted by thecjm at 7:53 AM on December 2, 2020 [3 favorites]


I love that there are still puzzles like this to be solved, and love reading about people getting to solve them!
posted by lemonade at 4:26 AM on December 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


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