[Catalist] The REAL not virtual Pokémon

[Glenda Leslie]

There is nothing new - Mother Nature has it all covered.
From: CSIRO Science by Email - great stories every week.
https://blogs.csiro.au/helix/science-by-email/ to subscribe





If you're a Pokémon fan, then you're probably obsessed with collecting every species. But did you know that Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri got his inspiration from insects? Here are some reasons why entomology (the study of insects) is like playing Pokémon in real life.

5.       Transformation occurs in Pokémon and insects
Some Pokémon and insects undergo metamorphosis. These stages usually include egg, larva, pupa and adult. In butterflies, you may know this cycle as an egg becoming a caterpillar (larva), then a chrysalis (pupa), and finally an adult butterfly. An example from Pokémon is an egg hatching into a Caterpie, which turns into a Metapod, and then ends up as a Butterfree.

4.       Like Pokémon trainers, entomologists travel searching far and wide for new species
There are some great places to look for insects. There are 17 megadiverse hotspots containing 70 per cent of the world's biodiversity, but these take up only 10 per cent of Earth's total surface and are rich in insect species!

3.       Different traps catch different species
There are different types of Poké Ball for Pokémon, and different traps and lures for insect species. For example, net or flight-intercept traps are used for flying insects, and pitfall or emergence traps are better for ground-dwelling insects.

2.       Pokédex for insects exist
Entomologists use catalogues to record species, such as the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) online database. The ALA includes data like a Pokédex does, including species distribution and collection information.

1.       We need your help to catch (and describe) 'em all!
If you thought 700 species of Pokémon were a handful, there are more than one million described insect species and another 30 million waiting to be described! Imagine if we came together to name all the species on Earth.

It's your turn to be the very best entomologist that no one ever was! If you're interested in entomology, start a digital collection by photographing then releasing your specimens, and visit or volunteer at your local museum's insect collection.

More information
For more reasons why insects are like Pokémon, check out the next issue of Double Helix magazine. Subscribe to receive your copy<http://csiro.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6ae8427d1f6f3b8d6da57d629&id=0544755a83&e=d839ae6ef0>!

This article was written by Dr Bryan Lessard, aka Bry the Fly Guy. He's an entomologist at CSIRO's Australian National Insect Collection in Canberra.

[Like Five reasons why insects are like Pokémon on Facebook]<http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6ae8427d1f6f3b8d6da57d629&id=780501eaf5&fblike=true&e=d839ae6ef0&socialproxy=http%3A%2F%2Fus4.campaign-archive1.com%2Fsocial-proxy%2Ffacebook-like%3Fu%3D6ae8427d1f6f3b8d6da57d629%26id%3D780501eaf5%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fus4.campaign-archive1.com%252F%253Fu%253D6ae8427d1f6f3b8d6da57d629%2526id%253D780501eaf5%26title%3DFive%2520reasons%2520why%2520insects%2520are%2520like%2520Pok%25C3%25A9mon>[share on Twitter]<http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Feepurl.com%2Fb-IHAz&text=Five+reasons+why+insects+are+like+Pok%C3%A9mon&count=none>


Enjoy your bug collecting.
Cheers,
Glenda

Glenda Leslie
Curriculum Consultant  |  Science
[https://www.ais.wa.edu.au/system/files/page_related_files/2016/01/aiswa_l_colour_transparent.png]
Mobile    0438 115 914    Office     (08) 9441 1628
Suite 3, 41 Walters Drive Osborne Park, WA 6017
www.ais.wa.edu.au<http://www.ais.wa.edu.au/>
I acknowledge that this land that I live and work on is Whadjuk country and that the Whadjuk Noongar people are the traditional owners and custodians, who have a rich social, spiritual and historical connection to this country, which is as strong today, as it was in the past.
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager on the above phone number. Although the company has taken reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in this email, the company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.stawa.net/pipermail/catalist_lists.stawa.net/attachments/20160722/bf105c80/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 13894 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://lists.stawa.net/pipermail/catalist_lists.stawa.net/attachments/20160722/bf105c80/attachment.png>