30/11/2021
For YOUth to know...
TODAY'S SCIENCE TRIVIA: First discovered in 2011 during an expedition in Northern Luzon, ๐๐ฉ๐บ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ช is the tenth species under the genus Phyllium (said to be the largest and most widespread group in the leaf insect family, Phylliidae) found in the Philippines.
The insect was named by University of the Philippines Los Baรฑos Museum of Natural History (UPLB-MNH) director Dr. Ireneo Lit Jr. and entomologist Orlando Eusebio after Andres Bonifacio, in honor of the hero's 150th birth anniversary (November 30, 2013).
๐. ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ช possesses an apple-green or cyan-green body, segmented antennae, forelegs roughly twice the length of its head, midlegs and hind legs slightly longer than its forelegs, and โwell-developedโ wings that make it resemble a leaf. As a defensive measure, females of the species can emit a foul odor.
It takes three months for ๐. ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ช to grow from egg to adulthood. An adult ๐. ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ช measures 10 mm in length (about as wide as a fingernail, or as long as a staple).
Sadly, it is possible that the species can be classified as "vulnerable to extinction." Aside from its seemingly low distribution, only half hatch from the 20 eggs it lays (a number that is said to be "relatively low" for insects to begin with).
References:
[1] https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/658679/uplb-scientists-name-new-insect-after-bonifacio
[2] https://mnh.uplb.edu.ph/14-content/news/218-new-leaf-insect-species-described-by-mnh-entomologists [Cached]
[3] https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/science/395406/new-leaf-insect-named-after-andres-bonifacio/story/
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Today's Science History Milestone: On November 30, 1954, a nine-pound meteorite the size of a grapefruit crashed through the ceiling of Ann Hodges' home in Sylacauga, Alabama, hitting her in the thigh. It was the first documented case of a person getting struck by a space rock.
