Bugs in sports again

In a big week for animals in sport, the most Disney Pixar moment of them all was arguably Victor Robles’ unexpected companion during the Nationals versus Phillies game.

During the eighth inning on Monday night, it became apparent that a large praying mantis had taken a seat on the center fielder’s hat. While it’s not clear exactly when Robles became aware of the stowaway, match attendees were thankfully quick off the mark in getting footage of the pair.

Whatever you do, don’t tell Victor Robles that he’s playing CF with a praying mantis on his head.

Footage shows the mantis sitting atop Robles’ head, not dissimilar to Remy the gastronomically curious rat in Disney Pixar’s Ratatouille.

Whether or not the hat passenger gave Robles a sporting advantage is unconfirmed, the two made quite the team as the center fielder made sure his curious fascinator was on top of the game, letting it know the number of outs.

It might seem impressive that such a spindly insect could sit so comfortably on a baseball cap for an entire inning, but another recent video demonstrated the incredible staying power of leggy buggy things. In a Tweet that sparked empathy in the hearts of thousands, a stick insect down on its luck can be seen clinging for dear life to the aerial of a moving car.

Stick insect’s incredible foot stickiness is facilitated by two wet and functionally different pads on the same foot, one of which helps with sticking while the other helps with unsticking. The technique is very different from that of geckos, which use dry sticky pads on their toes (and tails!) to hold

Blog by Julez for Styles Rebel Radio