Senku In Africa Writing Home

Senku in Africa writing home

Subject: Specimen Observation: Bactrododema tiaratum Attachment: stickbug_photo1.jpg

Yo.

Caught this guy clinging to the mesh above our field station sink at 03:47 this morning. Almost mistook it for a twig someone used to prop the window open until it blinked at me. Classic.

Observed Specimen:

Species: Bactrododema tiaratum (local ID confirmed with regional biodiversity database)

Estimated Length: ~18.2 cm

Behavior: Motionless for approx. 14 minutes before minor locomotion triggered by ambient vibration. Defensive drop reflex observed and recorded. No chemical discharge during encounter, though posterior gland ridges suggest capability.

Location: Western Uganda, edge of Kibale ecosystem, elevation ~1100m

Notes:

This stick bug’s mimicry is textbook perfection. The thorax segmentation, leg angle articulation, and even the sway mimic branch behavior under wind stress (which was nonexistent at the time). Evolutionary pressure clearly produced peak efficiency here. You could walk past a dozen and never notice unless your pattern recognition’s tuned to ridiculous levels (like mine, obviously).

Also—its eggs mimic plant seeds. Which means they’ve hacked ant behavior to move their offspring underground. Science is ten billion percent amazing.

Anyway, I’ve attached a photo. If I wasn’t surrounded by mosquito-bitten chaos and broken lab fridges, I’d have collected the molt and started testing its tensile strength. (Still might.)

Hope your weeks are boring and predictable. Mine isn’t.

– Senku

P.S. Yuzuriha: You’d probably try to make it a pet. P.P.S. Taiju: Please don’t ask if it’s edible. P.P.P.S. Old man: I already named it so don't send back any dumb ass suggestions.

(Moments from new chapter in my fic where Senku apparently sent stuff to Yuzuriha, Taiju, and Byakuya a little expanded. CLICK HERE)