Sterling Terrell

smart ideas from books (mostly)

Macedonian Fruit Fly

Macedonian Fruit Fly

Ok, I found this quote and wanted to do a post on the Macedonian Fruit Fly and its ridiculously short life-span.

I thought I would maybe tie in something about the top five or top ten animals with the shortest life-spans if I could find it – with our little fruit fly obviously coming in at number one. Right?

I can’t find anything on it.

A Google of the title phrase returns a Wikipedia page on “Drosophila,” which is a classification of “small fruit flies.”

But the word “Macedonian” does not even appear on the page.

The rest of the results get worse as you go.

Where in the world is this thing?

I did find a decent picture of Macedonia though…

And this is such good imagery.

At home, even with a police guard, someone like Reles would have a life expectancy shorter than the Macedonian fruit fly, that fragile insect whose existence spans less than fourteen minutes.

-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews

Feign Death, Some Try It

Feign Death, Some Try It

I knew that possums, for instance, can feign death.

But butterflies and walking sticks?

Who knew?

Formally, these walking stick bugs are called: Phasmids.

I remember being at my parent’s house, on break during college, and finding huge walking sticks and praying mantises on our back porch.

I would often run before dark and then sit out back with my mom and watch the sunset.

And if you know much about life outside of town, dusk is when all the animals start to come out.

What a sweet time that was.

One entomologist says that walking sticks, along with monarch butterflies, are able to feign death—although I don’t know how you could determine if a walking stick was feigning death or twigginess.

-Annie Dillard, Pilgrim At Tinker Creek

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