Episode 7 - Weevil Woes

This is the Seventh episode in the storyline of "Humans-B-Gone!" This is also the second episode of the "Second Semester." You can watch it here.

### Episode Summary

A old weevil activates a blossom resembling a phonograph, starting music. He heads to the kitchen to find a plant pod filled with plant matter, but discovers a disturbance caused by humans. Panicking, the weevil activates the orchideo, and asks for a exterminator, Sophodra picks up.

The story then shifts to Rose having dreams about a butterfly, showcasing vibrant colors and imagery. Sophodra abruptly wakes up Rose, telling her that they have a job to do. Rose is confused but is quickly pushed to load up for their mission. Sophodra explains that they need to deal with a infestation still leaving Rose dazed. The scene transitions to Sophodra and Rose arriving at Weevil's house.

Sophodra tries to charm the weevil and tells him that he's in safe with her because she is a pest control expert. The weevil, flattered by Sophodra's attention, informs her about the "firegubs" infesting his kitchen. Sophodra investigates, only to find a cow, and informs the weevil of this discovery. She tasks Rose with keeping the weevil distracted while she deals with the pests. Meanwhile, in the human perspective, a hiver encounters a demivolute cow, leading to a terrifying encounter.

Gregorsa then explains what Demivolutes are and how it can refer to arthropods or animals that are neither inverterbrates, nor giant. He uses the cow seen in the scene as a example. He confirms that other vertabrates can be non-giant demivolutes. Not just cows, but also chickens and weasles.

### -Gregorsa's Notes-

Click the number to get the info for that citation marker. There are 30 points possible.

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**[1]**

**Morning glories** have unique flowers, with fused petals that open by flaring out in a spiral.

In our world, they are the basis for the **pherophone**--an old piece of technology, which can be thought of as the smell version of a radio. The orchideo, with its visual aspect, was developed later.

**1 pts** if you noticed the resemblance to a morning glory.

**[2]**

**Weevils** constitute the largest superfamily of beetles. They are usually identifiable by a long snout. In your world, some species may be kitchen pests, getting into your food before you can. In our world, you may have noticed the roles reversed.

Boll weevils in particular are significant crop pests to you, capable of decimating cotton crops. Through a convoluted turn of events, however, this at one point made the weevil an unlikely hero to you. In your world, a monument stands to it even now.

**2 pts** if you are familiar with weevils.

**1 pts** if you can spot the weevil on the monument.

**[3]**

Butterflies can see a wide range of colors. Like most insects, they can see ultraviolet ("ved"). Unlike most insects, they can also see red ("ultragreen").

Members of the genus Papilio are capable of seeing red, green, and blue (like you), plus ultraviolet, plus two additional colors: true violet (not a blend of red and blue), and broadband (composed of colors across the spectrum).

I would have translated these colors as well, but I'm afraid I'm running low on time.

**5 pts** if you knew butterflies could see a wide range of colors.

**[4]**

Earthstars are unusual fungi. Rather than mushrooms, they grow flower-like fruiting bodies. When hit by rain, the "petals" open, and the central body emits a puff of spores.

In our world, modified earthstars are very handy as sacks for carrying various items.

**5 pts** if you are familiar with earthstars.

**[5]**

But more unusual fungi by far are labouls. These fungi plug into their host using a "foot," where they feed on the insect's fluids at their leisure. Despite this, they are mostly benign.

In our world, the laboul has been domesticated, attached by hyphae (fungal roots) so that it is no longer parasitic. Not only may it serve as a backpack of sorts, but it has some limited computational capabilities which can be supplemented through additional cells and anthers.

Sophodra finds much use for it in her work.

**5 pts** if you are familiar with labouls.

**[6]**

In your world, cattle are a major food source for you. In our world, it is often the other way around. The long, prehensile horns are used for finely mincing meat to fit into their four small mouth openings, as well as used as limbs for a bipedal mode of movement. The external digestive tract can also exude enzymes for predigestion of prey.

As ruminants, they are notable for having a stomach divided into four compartments (in both our worlds).

**4 pts** if you've heard of sea spiders.

**[7]**

Though not true spiders, sea spiders are ocean-living relatives of arachnids. They are so skinny that they must fit some of their organs into the legs of their skeletal frames.

They drink the fluids of sea sponges with comically large snouts. Males are doting fathers, carrying the eggs on their legs until ready to hatch.

**4 pts** if you've heard of sea spiders.

**[8]**

Not just a television, the orchideo also sees some use as a telephone. Just as it uses flowers for actors and props in its television function, the orchideo uses a flower to represent the person on the other end.
Mimicking shape, color, movement, and smell, the orchideo presentation is an uncanny likeness to us.
However, to your senses, the display may be less impressive.

**3 pts** if you remember the orchideo.

**[9]**

In a sense, we also have "music" and "dance." However, our music is scent-based, more about imitating the smell and movement of a natural scene (such as a field of flowers). Accordingly, our dance is not about keeping a beat, but attempting to match the movements of the smell. Here, too, I have translated.

**2 pts** if you wondered how this would translate.

**[10]**

Like you, we have food processors. However, ours are based not on cooking food, but subjecting it to processes akin to marinating and pickling. Nonetheless, these serve similar functions of preserving and flavoring.

#### "Secret" Quote

The end quote shows up very quickly for a brief moment, to reveal it Click "Reveal"

**Reveal**

"are all in motion. I have all the time, and yet
I have none at all"

### Sources for the Episode

Each episode has sources that are listed at the end of the episode, click "Sources" to show all the sources at the end of the episode.

Sources
• Kobayashi, H., Daimaruya, M., Fujita, H. (2003). Unfolding of Morning Glory Flower as a Deployable Structure. In: Watanabe, K.,
Ziegler, F. (eds) IUTAM Symposium on Dynamics of Advanced Materials and Smart Structures. Solid Mechanics and Its Applications,
vol 106. Springer, Dordrecht.

• Lange, F., Olmstead, A., & Rhode, P. (2009). The Impact of the Boll Weevil, 1892–1932. The Journal of Economic History, 69(3),
685-718.

• Boissoneault, L. (2017, May 31). Why an Alabama town has a monument honoring the most destructive pest in American history.
Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/agricultural-pest-honored-herald-prosperity-enterprise-alabama-180963506/

• Arikawa K. The eyes and vision of butterflies. J Physiol. 2017 Aug 15;595(16):5457-5464.

• University, U. S. (n.d.). Earth stars: Herbarium. Utah State University.
https://www.usu.edu/herbarium/education/fun-facts-about-fungi/earth-stars

• Alex Weir, Gordon Beakes, An introduction to the laboulbeniales: A fascinating group of entomogenous fungi, Mycologist, Volume 9,
Issue 1, 1995, Pages 6-10, ISSN 0269-915X, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-915X(09)80238-3.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269915X09802383)

• Linn, J., Otterby, D., Howard, T., Shaver, R., Hutjens, M., & Kilmer, L. (n.d.). The ruminant digestive system. Extension at the University
of Minnesota. https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-nutrition/ruminant-digestive-system

• Scholtz, G., Brenneis, G. The pattern of a specimen of Pycnogonum litorale (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) with a supernumerary leg can be
explained with the “boundary model” of appendage formation. Sci Nat 103, 13 (2016).

• Burris, Z.P. Costs of exclusive male parental care in the sea spider Achelia simplissima (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida).
Mar Biol 158, 381–390 (2011).

1. ↑ Alvesgaspar CC BY-SA 3.0
2. ↑ Public Domain
3. ↑ Public Domain
4. ↑ Bodow CC BY-SA 3.0
5. ↑ JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au) CC BY-SA 3.0
6. ↑ Malcolm Storey CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
7. ↑ Gilles San Martin CC BY-SA 2.0
8. ↑ Kim Hansen CC BY-SA 3.0
9. ↑ Public Domain
10. ↑ Ken-Ichi Ueda CC BY 4.0