proof or disproof this hypothesis

[planthelper]

this is an easy experiment, but it can only proofed one way or the other, with a large number of experiments.

scenario:

you spot a grasshopper or similar plant pest, and try to catch it, so it doesn't eat your beloved plant.

the idea:

many grasshoppers and alike, start to wiggle a bit once they seem to detect a thread. the idea is to in 50% of the cases, to try to catch the insect with a straight forward hand movement, but in the other 50%, to as well, wiggle or move your hand side to side or so forth, till you close enough to attempt the catch. maybe even wiggling the whole body would help as well.

the hypothesis:

the insect uses wiggling and side movements, to evade capture. it thinks wiggling is a cloaking device! maybe this strength, is also it's weakness and it does not notice (or see it as danger) if an object wiggles.

I got a few results already...

branches and leaves move often, it would be stress full for the insect to, take flight every time a branch moves or a leave(s) casts a shadow.

Edited September 11, 2014 by planthelper

[etherealdrifter]

ha.

Planthelpen lol. Plant observation and an old problem. It's pretty cool to have the time to make such observations mang.

The ol fakey shakey shakey hand snakey is my fave...... i interpret it as imagine you are now a preying mantis Bruce Lee(this is the funnest part imo)

That is, stay still, slow your breathing down,...keep still, then, WHAM.....throw down the fakey,

ie. move yer hand one way opposite to the target, either left or right reaaal slow, realll slow.

Then before it jumps to the opposite path ,go WOP moving yer hand the complete opposite direction and clamp down your fingers on the critter.

disclaimer: i learnt this from watching preying mantis as they taught me how to grab white moths as they hovered around to lay eggs on my leafy broccoli or such green winter vegies. It's like they do a mimicing dance trance to hypnotize the prey and before it knows it - it's dinner.

But yes, it takes a stack of repetitive experimentation to get close to an even number of permutation/combination statistical computations, that (theoretically) would allow you to make a % hit strike win/loss chart.

i get the little nephews/nieces to draw up charts like this while i'm sitting em.

their interpretations of what the animal looks like redrawn by them makes for heaps of introspective laughs by the grownups.

here is another one of my teacher critters

>and if this makes no sense to you you are probably better of for it.

[planthelper]

nice extention to the the topic Cheshire!

I do use your method sometimes, mostly if catching prawns and crayfish.

insects can excite me far more than mammals, they can be so alien, and I guees, I like that a lot.

did you know that the silver fish, goes through more metamorphosis stages than any other insect?