babyaprilgator2d ago

i need a new question of the day in 20 minutes — i’m blanking

anyone have a good idea for me? i don’t want it to get too heavy, i prefer a playful vibe — earnest is ok, though!

Show threadAstrid2d ago
@babyalligator is the caterpiller 🐛or the butterfly the actual animal? 🦋
Show threadbabyaprilgator2d ago
@astridpoot i feel like i’d want some stats on that topic! it is provocative
Show threadAstrid2d ago
Mastodon help us out here: is the caterpiller or the butterfly the actual animal? @babyalligator
caterpillar 🐛
13.3%
butterfly 🦋
86.7%
Poll ended at .
Show threadEugene Parnell
@astridpoot @babyalligator Related question: in languages other than English, are the words for "butterfly" and "caterpillar" obviously related? For example "chick" and "chicken". In English that's an exception--we have tadpole to frog, calf to cow. Other languages--I think-- are more literal for most animals (I'm checking Farsi and Bahasa Indonesia which are all I know) and they're literal/related except for caterpillar and butterfly which don't indicate the relationship.
4:27amWeb
Show threadbabyaprilgator6h ago

@eugeneparnell @astridpoot in russian they are quite different (gusenitsa- caterpillar / babochka - butterfly) and french, too (chenille - caterpillar (i think??) and papillon - butterfly)

i’m wondering if there are any languages in which they’re closely related! that seems like the exception rather than the rule

Show threadAstrid3h ago
@babyalligator @eugeneparnell maybe because they were long thought to be different species? 'It was a pioneering naturalist, Maria Sibylla Merian, whose meticulous observations conclusively linked caterpillars to butterflies, laying the ground work for the fields of entomology, animal behaviour and ecology.' https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-21/maria-sibylla-merian-woman-first-linked-caterpillars-butterflies/10829898
The forgotten woman who proved butterflies' secret origin

Most school kids can describe in detail the life cycle of butterflies — eggs hatch into caterpillars, caterpillars turn into cocoons and cocoons hatch. But, Tanya Latty asks, do they know who conclusively linked caterpillars to butterflies?