Professor Emeritus Kiichi Ando of Hirosaki University has published a book "SCIENCE WATCH Learn from Mantis" (Kitatakakan, A5 version, p. 215), which scientifically proved that the mantis' snow prediction was wrong.In addition to showing many photographs, the story is developed while interweaving the research life of Professor Emeritus Ando, and the content is easy for the general public to understand.
According to Hirosaki University, the mantis snow forecast is that the mantis predicts the amount of snow that will fall in the winter of the year and lays eggs in places that are not buried in the snow, which was mistakenly endorsed by the academic community in the past. There are times when it is said that it is a well-established theory, such as being taken up by some media outlets.
However, when Professor Emeritus Ando conducted a field survey, it was found that the mantis eggs located higher than the snow cover were related to the height of the grass and the height of the trees.In addition, Professor Emeritus Ando demonstrated that mantis eggs hatch without problems even if they are buried under the snow.Then, this book considers why false information was accepted by the public and academia.
Professor Emeritus Ando is from Yamagata prefecture.His specialty is entomology, and he has been a professor at the Faculty of Agriculture, Hirosaki University since 1992, and retired in 2004.During his tenure, he mainly studied Oxya yezoensis, but after retirement he continues to study mantis.
Hirosaki University has long been regarded as one of the leading centers in entomology research in Japan. In April, Dr. Seiji Tanaka, an OB of the university, and Assistant Professor Ryohei Kanbara of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science published "Mystery and Ecology of the Outbreak of Batter" (Hokuryukan, A1 version, page 4).
