Entomological Sing-Along

I follow both the AAAS EurekAlert and Bug Girl on Twitter. Today, the first got my alliteration wheels turning. The second steered them.

First, EurekAlert's "Cockroach hookup signal could benefit endangered woodpecker" landed me at the North Carolina State University newsroom, where I read about Dr. Coby Schal's work on cockroach pheromones. Specifically, the pheromones for a wood cockroach with the Latin name Parcoblatta lata.

I love that name. The roach, probably not so much (though I have had my bouts of fascination with the critters).

And I thought it was cool that an insect viewed as a pest could also have a beneficial function, and for an endangered species at that.

A bit later I came across Bug Girl's tweet to her Entomological Carol. It gave me my own Eureka! moment. Her reproduction of Jim Richmond's parody of the Christmas Song put the holiday music bug (as it were) in my ear.

This is not the first time Bug Girl's blog has inspired me. While I was caught up in NaNoWriMo, I was oblivious to the fact that I had actually been awarded first runner-up status in her Ribald Tales of Entomology Limerick Contest. (Grin)

And so, without further ado:

Parcoblatta lata Wonderland
(to the tune of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland")

Roaches stink, are you smellin'?
Pheromones, they're a-tellin'.
So succulent-sweet, what woodpeckers eat.
Parcoblatta lata wonderland.

Dr. Schal took a reading.
Found the compounds for breeding
By using some gas as roaches chased ass.
Parcoblatta lata wonderland.

Nuclear magnetic resonating
Let him know what turned a suitor on.
Then he synthesized a mix for baiting
And watched the males all falling for the con.

Now his sexy solution
Tells about evolution:
Viagra for some, for others it's dumb.
Parcoblatta lata wonderland.

(Instrumental)

People say the lata's a home-wrecker,
But the bugs are happy in the wood,
'Til they're chomped by red-cockaded pecker
Who wants a lata latté in the 'hood.

Synthesized, it's a winner.
"Go get laid, then be dinner!"
That pheromone blend helps avian friend.
Parcoblatta lata wonderland.
Parcoblatta lata wonderland.

Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other JourneysPromote Your Page Too Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.), Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite, Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny, Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines, Vol. 5, Deviations: TelZodo, Vol. 6 and conclusion: Deviations: Second Covenant.Free downloads at the Deviations website (click here for alternate link), Smashwords, and Manybooks. Proud participant, Operation E-Book Drop (provides free e-books to personnel serving overseas. Logo from the imagination and graphic artistry of K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman); Books For Soldiers (ships books and more to deployed military members of the U.S. armed forces); and Shadow Forest Authors (a fellowship of authors and supporters for charity, with a focus on literacy). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.