Last October, someone brought a live katydid into my classroom during a class break. He/she (I think it was probably a he) was about to take it back outside, but I was too fascinated by it. I volunteered to take care of the bug and kept it with me throughout my chemistry class. This little guy held my almost undivided attention for the next fifty minutes:
The katydid was obviously much more interesting than chemistry. Its head robotically moved from side to side, independent of its segmented body. Using its front legs, the bug would clean its antennae by sliding them through its mandibles. A small piece of poop appeared at the end of the abdomen; apparently lacking the "pinching" muscle, katydid used its back leg to kick and detach the pellet. Occasionally (and unexpectedly), it would spread its wings and fly across the desk, startling me and nearby students (also distracted) - especially when it landed on my shirt. Fortunately nobody was sitting in the desk next to me, so it had some room to move about. The desks were facing south - for some reason, katydid kept trying to move in that direction. I would turn it in different directions as to disorient it and keep it nearby for further observation, but it was all in vain. Apparently its internal compass pointed true. Perhaps katydid knew the winter was coming and was trying to head toward warmer climates. The tricky part was that there were two girls sitting in front of me, unaware of the fun going on behind them. I had to stop the bug from crawling onto their shoulders or from flying into their hair. It wasn't easy. Eventually, katydid ended up on the floor and crawled south (toward the front of the classroom). Unfortunately, I lost track. Hopefully it ended up back outside!
I somewhat reminded myself of Thoreau during his time at Walden Pond - enjoying and observing a small piece of creation. I think I'm a bit of a naturalist - I very much enjoy nature and the beauty of the world around me. My garden is coming along nicely - several daffodils now have bright yellow blossoms. Here are some more nature pictures that I've taken over the past few months:
The katydid was obviously much more interesting than chemistry. Its head robotically moved from side to side, independent of its segmented body. Using its front legs, the bug would clean its antennae by sliding them through its mandibles. A small piece of poop appeared at the end of the abdomen; apparently lacking the "pinching" muscle, katydid used its back leg to kick and detach the pellet. Occasionally (and unexpectedly), it would spread its wings and fly across the desk, startling me and nearby students (also distracted) - especially when it landed on my shirt. Fortunately nobody was sitting in the desk next to me, so it had some room to move about. The desks were facing south - for some reason, katydid kept trying to move in that direction. I would turn it in different directions as to disorient it and keep it nearby for further observation, but it was all in vain. Apparently its internal compass pointed true. Perhaps katydid knew the winter was coming and was trying to head toward warmer climates. The tricky part was that there were two girls sitting in front of me, unaware of the fun going on behind them. I had to stop the bug from crawling onto their shoulders or from flying into their hair. It wasn't easy. Eventually, katydid ended up on the floor and crawled south (toward the front of the classroom). Unfortunately, I lost track. Hopefully it ended up back outside!
I somewhat reminded myself of Thoreau during his time at Walden Pond - enjoying and observing a small piece of creation. I think I'm a bit of a naturalist - I very much enjoy nature and the beauty of the world around me. My garden is coming along nicely - several daffodils now have bright yellow blossoms. Here are some more nature pictures that I've taken over the past few months:
a sunset, taken December 2011
some nice flowers on my way to school, March 2012
Venus (bright) and Jupiter (below), taken tonight
(So my last post received more hits in 24 hours after being put online than my previously-most-viewed post, which has been up for almost a year. Weird.)
This is true.
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