London’s Natural History Museum has 28 million bugs on record, so when museum entomologist Max Barclay found one hanging around in the building’s grounds, he decided to check what it was.
It turned out to be a mystery—there was no record of where the insect had come from or what it was.
The creature’s closest relative was American, the box elder bug, though a similar specimen had also been found on the Mediterranean coast of France.
“I was surprised to be confronted by an unidentifiable species while having a sandwich in the museum’s garden,” Barclay said.
He suggested two explanations, that it may be a similar species called roeselii that’s started feasting on a different type of tree, or it might not be roeselii.
We suppose two options covers all bases, at least.
It turned out to be a mystery—there was no record of where the insect had come from or what it was.
The creature’s closest relative was American, the box elder bug, though a similar specimen had also been found on the Mediterranean coast of France.
“I was surprised to be confronted by an unidentifiable species while having a sandwich in the museum’s garden,” Barclay said.
He suggested two explanations, that it may be a similar species called roeselii that’s started feasting on a different type of tree, or it might not be roeselii.
We suppose two options covers all bases, at least.
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