Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 July 24

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July 24

I found a strange insect and haven't been able to identify it, can you help me?

During a walk in a forest in Haute-Savoie, France, my boyfriend and I stumbled upon the strange insect visible in the picture and video linked below. It doesn't look like anything I have ever seen and despite some research, I haven't been able to identify it. Can you help me?

Link to the picture

Video of it crawling 80.94.146.19 (talk) 08:09, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

Well, it is definitely not an insect as it has too many legs. Other than that I don't know (except that it's some sort of arthropod, but that doesn't narrow it down much). Hope someone else can say more. --Trovatore (talk) 08:11, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

You might also try uploading it to https://inaturalist.org . --Trovatore (talk) 08:14, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for introducing us to the little fellow! Just as a p.s. on the excessive legs, the ones in the middle are prolegs rather than "real legs", which is why it appears to have more than six. Henry^Flower 15:59, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed it was a larva. --Trovatore (talk) 18:10, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

I'm guessing the moth's predators have the same problem, which is sort-of the idea. --Jayron32 18:16, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

EDIT: solved! For those interested, it's a Stauropus Fagi caterpillar. Identification by the Société entomologique de Genève (Geneva entomology society). -- 80.94.146.19

Moved out of header. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:48, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

White PVC pipes used as lechis

According to today's featured article, 2017–18 Bergen County eruv controversy, a white PVC pipe, acting as a lechi, can be attached to a utility pole to denote a eruv. How is one to know that it's a lechi? There don't appear to be any markings on the pipe except for the manufacturer's name, building codes, and such. It just seems to be a white PVC pipe to me. I would have thought that there would be some wire in the pipe which was being protected from the elements or possibly animals who might try to climb the pole and accidentally harm the wires. Is it sort of like Hobo#Hobo_signs_(symbols) where you just know what it is if you're part of the community? †dismas†|^(talk) 12:26, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

Yes. See Eruv. DroneB (talk) 18:37, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

Thank you but how does that article address my question? †dismas†|^(talk) 19:59, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

For it to denote an Eruv, there has to be rope at the top, which encircles the Eruv. LongHairedFop (talk) 21:50, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

The local Orthodox Jewish community will know full well what they are. Nobody else needs to know.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:47, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Who are you to decide what someone "needs to know"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:24, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Why not? Is it a state secret? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:32, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

There's a difference between not needing to know something (though one could find out by enquiry) and being obstructed from knowing it. Utility companies mark colour-coded symbols on the ground: I don't know what they mean, but I could find out if I wanted to, and no-one would seek to prevent me from doing so. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.218.111.216 (talk) 09:19, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Especially if you read the article. Unless another user forbids it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:25, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

_{Once again, a hat seems called for to contain pointless chatter. DroneB (talk) 15:12, 25 July 2018 (UTC)}

Done. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:54, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Since the PVC-pipe lechi only functions as a weather-durable location marker it is immaterial whether the pipe is hollow or solid. Having wires inside the pipe is unnecessary and might even be construed as creating an unwanted lightning attractor. Rabbinic advice could be sought on whether factory markings on the pipe should be left as-is or removed. DroneB (talk) 15:12, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

That would be a pipe. This isn't just a pipe, it's a lechi. It has a symbolic function as a 'doorpost' too. This symbolism is so convoluted that the eruv wire must 'rest upon' the lechi, rather than merely being attached to it. It's the main reason they're used - an eruv is often (partially) designated rather than constructed, using existing cables - but these must be made definitively valid as doorposts and lintels, with the addition of lechi. Andy Dingley (talk) 17:20, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

The only people who need to know the where the lechi is or if the wire is securely attached are those people who supervise and check the eruv. Most eruvin are checked weekly, so if it was damaged by an animal or wind, it can get repaired. The lechi itself can be any material and is often a telephone pole, when the top wire is used as an eruv, when an additional wire/string is used for the eruv then you often have a PVC lechi. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 17:25, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

It's not up to anyone here to dictate what someone "needs to know". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:44, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

^{@Baseball Bugs, you need to know that your repetitive heckling of other editors working to answer the OP is disruptive, and as you will not learn it then you need to be told. DroneB (talk) 14:26, 26 July 2018 (UTC)}

Do I need to know how a combustion engine works or do I just need to know that it works when I need to drive a car? 99.9% of the people utilizing an eruv have no clue where or what a lechi is or where specific lechis are. I really don't know why you are taking words that mean one thing and using it to start issues. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 20:21, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

You don't "have to" know, but it's not someone else's place to tell you that you don't "need to" know - what you "need to" know is your decision. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:44, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

Planning permission was requested for an eruv in this area and objections were lodged - I can't tell by looking at the street furniture whether it has been constructed or not. If Baseball Bugs decided that he "needed to know" details of the security arrangements at Fort Knox I suspect a Federal agent would quickly tell him he didn't. 86.133.26.146 (talk) 12:33, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

That's why I asked if it was a state secret. And by the way, Google-Image the subject of Fort Knox if you're curious about it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:47, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

While your reply to the hatted discussion above is perhaps slightly fair, your response here seems pointless. The original question seems to be in part, 'given the absence of markings how do people know that the pipes are lechi?' Sir Joseph answer may not have been phrased as well as it could have been, but it seems they are saying that most people even those part of the community do not necessarily recognise the lechi. It's often only really those who's job it is to check them who definitely know, and they know where they are so have limited need to recognise the lechi. If you are desperate to know how to recognise lechi, you should actually ask rather than getting into a pointless huff over someone who is simply answering the OP. (Although frankly, even that question seems to have already been answered. There is not necessarily a clear cut way as it will depend on the precise case, and it may very well be that the primary way you will recognise them is by already having a reasonable idea of where they are. If you want to know for any specific case, you probably should ask those charged with maintaining them. That said, if you're as rude to them as were in this question, don't be surprised if they basically just tell you to fuck off.) Nil Einne (talk) 13:10, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

(after edit conflict) There is a middle ground here. Anybody can know where an eruv is and whether or not it is intact, but only a few people need to do that inspection. Those few people can then disseminate that information to other people. Incidentally, there is no need for the "hatting" above. 90.218.111.216 actually gave a very good response but unfortunately it is within the "hatted" area. I am going to take the liberty of "un-hatting". There are actually "eruv hot-lines" in areas containing eruvs (eruvin). Most people are relying on an automated message to tell them if the eruv is in effect. Bus stop (talk) 13:09, 27 July 2018 (UTC)