Antennae vs. antennas

[Dave M. in Atlanta]

Ken Philip wrote:

>	When I look at the non-scientific things that people get deeply
>interested in, I see something different. I see that people are willing,
>indeed eager, to learn as many abstruse things about their interests as
>they can. Listen to people disgorging baseball statistics, or arcane
>data about cars. I am not sure that 'dumbing down' a subject is the best
>way to increase interest. I think Glassberg is going at it backwards, so
>to speak. People who are seriously interested in a subject will not cavil
>at picking up its voabulary--all we need do is make that information
>easily accessible.

Right.  But it's easy to see why Glassberg sees it that way.  As a
lawyer, he knows how most legal jargon can be quite alienating.
I'm an engineer, however.  We have more jargon and acronyms than
anyone, but most of our terms have precise meanings.  The common terms
"device" and "contraption" can only be used to describe so many
things.  Interested parties have had little trouble adopting our
terms:  radar, laser, internet, sonar, cd-rom, equalizer, telephone,
television, microwave, etc.  Of course,  science and engineering
really aren't that far removed from one another, and biological
nomenclature has its place among those studying biology (or
lepidopterology).  

...not to mention the fact that our American common names for insects
mean nothing to foreigners. (Americans are a minority.)  But then
again, I don't presume the North American Butterfly Association has
many members on the other continents.   ;-)
Common names are a good  idea for NABA publications (which I enjoy, by
the way), but in more widely-read sources, scientific names have more
meaning.  So let's not throw-out the latin just yet.   Both formats
have their proper place and use.


>What lepidopterists say			What they _should_ say
>
>Larva					Caterpillar (a more precise term)

Larva more specifically implies immaturity.  Caterpillar specifies
that the insect is lepidopteran, and juvenile as well.  So they both
have appropriate uses.  They are certainly not synonyms.
 
>Oviposit				Lay eggs

Oviposit literally means "place eggs."  "Laying eggs" would presume
that they are placed on an upward surface (which is often not the
case.)  I think oviposit is generally better.

>Proboscis				Tongue

Completely different, anatomically.

>Antennae				Antennas

That one confuses me.  I'm an electrical engineer.  So lepidoptera are
radar-enabled?       :-)




Of course, I don't think the scientific terms are quite appropriate
for six-year-olds, but then again, I was reading and learning from
Alexander Klots' book when I was eight...