July 2, 2010

Entomologist "Bugged" by Misnomer
By Derek Woller

Please allow me, dear reader, to stand upon my soapbox for a bit and discuss with you an issue that vexes me so. On the surface, it is really only a minor issue and one, quite possibly, to be forgotten after you have finished reading this article, but to me, an actual card-carrying entomologist, it is a major one.

For those of you who are not familiar with my particular branch of science, I am very much into the study of insects. The etymology of entomology breaks down like this: in Greek, "entomon" means "notch, insect" with the notch portion originally referring to any "bloodless" creature that possessed notched body parts, such as worms, arachnids, crustaceans, and insects. Aristotle, the famed Greek philosopher, is thought to have been the one who first grouped such creatures together and collectively labeled the assemblage Entoma. "Logos" translates from Greek into "discourse," and so, "entomology" roughly becomes "the study of insects."

What exactly defines an insect? Over the years, I have discovered that many people, adults and kids alike, have great difficulty in answering that very question and it actually has a very simple answer: six legs. No more. No less. Six. Easy, right? Wrong. The number of people who say four or eight is considerable. Every now and again, someone even says two, but I am pretty sure they are just messing with me. Also, all possess three body parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), many have wings, each also has an exoskeleton, and almost every one of them is relatively small compared to the life forms we are more comfortable with, such as cats, dogs, etc.

Although they typically do not garner much respect, insects truly dominate our world. Approximately two-thirds of the organisms that inhabit our planet are insects, and we have put scientific (Latin) names on over a million insects with many more being discovered all the time. There are also, depending on your source, thirty or more insect orders (groups), such as Coloeptera (which includes all the beetles) and Hymenoptera, which contains the ants, bees, and wasps.

"Okay, great," I hear you saying, "but what happened to that soapbox of yours?" Well, look no further than this word: bug. Three little letters that drive me up the proverbial wall. If I could, I would quickly ask all of you what this word conjures up when it exits your mouth, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I know what you would say. However, if you know where I am going with all of this, then I apologize in advance for putting words into your mouth.

To the majority of the world, any creepy crawler critter is a "bug." Spider? Bug. Centipede? Bug. Worm? Bug. You get the idea, I imagine. I would not even put it past some to call a bat a "bug" based on some of the myths associated with those cool creatures (like getting stuck in your hair and drinking your blood). Where this trend to call any freaky creature a "bug" came from is unknown to me, but someday I hope to track down its origins if for no other reason than pure curiosity, the spice of life and lifeblood of science.

But I digress because rather than figure out how the term came to be associated with so many varied organisms I would explain where the word actually comes from and to what it actually refers. One of the thirty-plus insect orders mentioned above is called Hemiptera, or the "true bugs." Many entomologists just refer to the large abundance of insects in this order as just plain "bugs," and it appears that the "true" portion of the common name for the order was added much later to separate it from the misuse of the term "bugs" being used elsewhere so ubiquitously.

True bugs, as I shall refer to them from now on to avoid further confusion, are pretty interesting insects and chances are you have encountered a member of this order at some point in your life, whether it was a cicada (makes that high-pitched sound in summer in the trees), the aptly-named stink bug, a water strider, or even the dreaded bed bug. All order members share a similar pointy mouthpart used for piercing and/or sucking, although some, like aphids, use it for subsisting solely on plants and others, like assassin bugs use it for killing and draining their prey.

All right, I suppose I can step down now. *Phew* Thanks, I feel much better. While I try not to say anything too much of the time when I hear people calling all manner of weird mini-beasts "bugs" except for actual true bugs, it does grate after a while simply because people would probably deem me annoying and, perhaps a bit nutty, if, for instance, I insisted on calling every mammal on the planet a "dog." "Whoa, check out that giant dog right off the coast!?" You may be looking at a whale, but I would be calling it a dog. Instead of "bug," I advocate using "arthropod," which many creepy creatures are, including insects (all arthropods have exoskeletons) or just plain old "thing" as in "look at that weird thing."

Before I sign off again, I thought I would leave you with this thought: a ladybug is not actually a "bug" (i.e. a true bug), so what is it?

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Explorit news and events:

o Through July 3: After being nominated, Explorit is one of the top 5 finalists for 2010 Charity Paint Give-Away from Brooks Painting and now stands to win up to a $10,000 Charity Makeover. Brooks Painting is generously donating their time and painting services to a local charitable organization. Please visit www.brookspainting.com/vote to cast your vote! Public voting closes July 3rd. Thanks for your continued support!

o Tuesday, July 13: Thanks to a recent donation from IKEA, West Sacramento and the hard work of a volunteer from Genentech, Explorit has been able to enhance our Toddler Tuesdays with a new "IKEA Little Explorers' Corner." The donation includes new shelving, rugs, tables and chairs. Additionally, IKEA contributed many toys and arts and crafts activities for all our "Little Explorers," ages 2-5. We welcome you to the unveiling of the "IKEA Little Explorers' Corner" on July 13 at 11a.m. Music Matt (local musician) and Dinger (mascot from the River Cats) will be on hand to sing and celebrate.

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Explorit Science Center, at 2801 Second St., has two exhibitions on display: "Move It! Science in Action" and "Take Matter Into Your Own Hands." Admission is $4 general, free for teachers, and ages 3 and under. The museum is open to school groups by reservation and to the general public 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. For more information call (530) 756-0191 or visit http://www.explorit.org.