Each year, 20 million leapers of a more playful kind arrive in the world’s toy shops from a tiny part of Mexico.
The jumping bean is really the seed of a desert shrub. Only a few show this odd leaping.
The seeds, imported as novelty toys, seem to have a mind of their own.
There really is a mind behind the jumping: a moth caterpillar lives and feeds inside the seed.
The caterpillars flip their home to escape. They not only feel the heat, light makes them jumpy.
They fuss and fidget into the shade. This behavior is a lifesaver in the hot Mexican desert.
The caterpillar repairs the damage by weaving a silken wall.
It grips on to the silk wall when it leaps. And the shape of the bean helps it roll.
For weirdness, the Mexican jumping bean is hard to beat.
Mexican Jumping Beans
Each year, 20 million leapers of a more playful kind arrive in the world’s toy shops from a tiny part of Mexico.
The jumping bean is really the seed of a desert shrub. Only a few show this odd leaping.
The seeds, imported as novelty toys, seem to have a mind of their own.
There really is a mind behind the jumping: a moth caterpillar lives and feeds inside the seed.
The caterpillars flip their home to escape. They not only feel the heat, light makes them jumpy.
They fuss and fidget into the shade. This behavior is a lifesaver in the hot Mexican desert.
The caterpillar repairs the damage by weaving a silken wall.
It grips on to the silk wall when it leaps. And the shape of the bean helps it roll.
For weirdness, the Mexican jumping bean is hard to beat.