Is it a butterfly?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2010 04:16AM by annie.

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.
12) is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)? no and no, sadly. though i think my laptop keyboard might be a little easier to use than a typewriter, if one wants to try
13) If the darling little cute bug-thing was of a mind to bite or sting a human, does it have venom that is either poisonous, or at least irritating enough to raise a bump on the skin? Nope! (no venom at all)
14) Is it a butterfly? No

Can it fly without the aid of an itty bitty aeroplane?

(pssst! geg! I think it's safe to come out now. you can hide behind me, at any rate.)

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.
12) is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)? no and no, sadly. though i think my laptop keyboard might be a little easier to use than a typewriter, if one wants to try
13) If the darling little cute bug-thing was of a mind to bite or sting a human, does it have venom that is either poisonous, or at least irritating enough to raise a bump on the skin? Nope! (no venom at all)
14) Is it a butterfly? No
15) Can it fly without the aid of an itty bitty aeroplane? Yes!

Is it a dragonfly?

Edit: You know, as long as we are bug-nerdy, in a strikt sense it could not be. Odonata lack the necessary joint to fold their wings close to the body. Even a lot of damselflies will only hold them high above their back and may really be damaged when scooped into a matchbox.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2010 06:31PM by PrinzHilde.

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.
12) is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)? no and no, sadly. though i think my laptop keyboard might be a little easier to use than a typewriter, if one wants to try
13) If the darling little cute bug-thing was of a mind to bite or sting a human, does it have venom that is either poisonous, or at least irritating enough to raise a bump on the skin? Nope! (no venom at all)
14) Is it a butterfly? No
15) Can it fly without the aid of an itty bitty aeroplane? Yes!
16) Is it a dragonfly? No

I think you could fit a dragonfly into a sufficiently long matchbox by inserting it sideways (so that the wings extend for the length of the box) since their wingspan is typically longer than the length of their body (unlike most damselflies). It would certainly object to being confined, but it would be flat enough to fit without being crushed.

This is a clue of sorts in that the creature in question is decidedly NOT flat.

Is it a grasshopper?

Is it a grasshopper?

0) The item is entirely animal.
1) Is it alive? Yes!
2) Is it a cat? No, it is not a cat.
3) Does it fit in a breadbox? Yes
4) Does it have more than 4 limbs? Yes!
5) A big, hairy, scary spider? No
6) Does it normally live in water? No
7) Is it a ladybird? No
8) Is it vertebrate? No
9) Has it an exoskeleton? Yes
10) Is it something that can be kept as a pet? (by non-crazy people) Yes
11) Would it fit in a breadbox if the breadbox were the size of a matchbox? Yes, if you don't mind making it very angry and possibly hurting it.
12) is it a cockroach (and does it write poetry)? no and no, sadly. though i think my laptop keyboard might be a little easier to use than a typewriter, if one wants to try
13) If the darling little cute bug-thing was of a mind to bite or sting a human, does it have venom that is either poisonous, or at least irritating enough to raise a bump on the skin? Nope! (no venom at all)
14) Is it a butterfly? No
15) Can it fly without the aid of an itty bitty aeroplane? Yes!
16) Is it a dragonfly? No
17) Is it a grasshopper? No
17a) Is it a grasshopper? No

Annie and PrinzHilde, are you two identical twins, sockpuppets for a single person, or mindreaders?

I think I can exclude all mentioned possibilities but the mindreader one, which I can only claim to know nothing about.

BTW, would you be inclined to explain whether the 'no' refers to all species of the Caelifera suborder? I'm a bit unsure how this word is used in (american) english. To ask it plainly, is a locust a grasshopper to you? (In german, it would be exactly the other way round, a "Grashüpfer" is commonly understood as a special "Heuschrecke")

I would regard grasshoppers as distinct from crickets and katydids, but locusts as a type of grasshopper. (That's provided that when you say "locust", you don't mean "cicada", as seems to be a common American usage.) Just to be clear, the animal in question is not any member of the order Orthoptera.

This is partly with the help of Wikipedia, however, as this is just about the limit of my insect taxonomy knowledge.

Is it a very small insectiod alien from the planet Phaaarkos?

---

Part time Quantum Elephant hollower

Is it a very small insectiod alien from the planet Phaaarkos? No, but that would be cool!

It's also not very small as far as insects go.

(I don't want to go a third time, so somebody figure it out!)

What we have so far: it has an exoskeleton, more than four limbs and can fly. As far as I can see, this makes it clearly an insect. (Oh - MS has confirmed this directly in her last comment, I see!)

It is an insect large enough not to fit easily into a matchbox, but it is neither a butterfly, a dragonfly or a grasshopper. The other large insects that come to mind are mantis, a few Heteroptera (strange that there is no clear distinct english name for them, as 'bug' seems to be a more generic term I learn from Wikipedia. In german, they are called 'Wanze'), and lots and lots of beetle.

OK, let's start with the easy one: it is a mantis?

Is a mantis? YES!

I thought of using an insect or other invertebrate when a house centipede ran across my desk a week or so ago. But I decided to go with the more well-known (and considerably more charismatic) praying mantis.

I think "bug" is the usual English term for Heteroptera, although the name is also used colloquially to any land-dwelling invertebrate. I suspect a lot of people aren't very familiar with that order in general, and may confuse the few "true bugs" they see with other insects like beetles.

PrinzHilde, your turn!

Before that, here's a little celebratory buggy song:

Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer
sitzt 'ne kleine Wanze.
Seht euch nur die Wanze an,
wie die Wanze tanzen kann!
Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer
sitzt 'ne kleine Wanze.

(Look at [www.mamalisa.com] for a translation and explanation)

Let me think...

0) Mineral, but a lot of them also have vegetable parts.

Would a (normal) person wear it?

0) Mineral, but a lot of them also have vegetable parts.
1) Would a (normal) person wear it? No.

waits everso patiently for violetmoon