For centuries, haiku poems have captured the human connection to nature, often depicting observations of insects and other wildlife. A recent study by Penn State researchers examined the most commonly mentioned insects in haiku, revealing that butterflies, fireflies, and singing insects like crickets were the most frequent subjects.
Haiku are short poems that consist of three lines. The first and third lines have five syllables each, and the second line has seven syllables.
In a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers examined nearly 4,000 haiku and discovered that aquatic arthropods, such as caddisflies, stoneflies, and fishflies, were the least mentioned.
Andrew Deans, the corresponding author and a professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, highlighted the significance of these findings, emphasizing the insects that evoke strong emotions in humans, and those that don’t.Insects are not getting the attention they deserve. “I believe that by highlighting the importance and impact of insects, especially those that have a significant influence on our environment, we can improve public awareness,” Deans explained. “Aquatic arthropods, for instance, are rarely talked about, so there is a need for more education on this topic.” Deans was motivated to carry out this study after reading about the global decline in insect populations. Scientists have been discussing the potential consequences of this decline, such as decreased plant pollination and disruptions in the food chain.Deans expressed his interest in observing whether the decrease in insect populations would be mirrored in art. He explained that they anticipated a potential shift in the tone or emotion of insect-related poetry over time. Deans believed that haiku, being brief and capturing specific moments in nature, could serve as a means to understand human perceptions and interactions with insects. Co-author Laura Porturas, an assistant curator at the Frost Entomological Museum, added that they were also seeking to obtain insights that could aid in the conservation of insect populations.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to talk with people about insects because their initial reaction is ‘ew, creepy,'” Porturas said. “We were interested in learning which insects and what aspects of their biology have good emotions associated with them, because that would make it easier to talk to people about why insects are important and all the beneficial things they do in our ecosystem.”
For the study, the researchers assembled a data set of 3,894 haiku written around the world by 1,248 individual poets between 1549 and 2022. About one third of the poems were sourced from the Hexapod rnrnThe Frost Museum sponsors an annual poetry contest called the Haiku Challenge, which specifically focuses on insect-related haiku. The contest for 2024 is open for entries until June 15.
Afterwards, the researchers used linguistic software to analyze the poems. They looked at the types of insects mentioned, as well as their characteristics such as movement, sounds, and the overall tone and emotion of the poems, among other factors.
In total, the researchers discovered that the poems represented at least 99 families of arthropods, across 28 different orders. The most commonly referenced orders were Lepidoptera, which includes butterflies and moths; Hymenoptera, which includes bees and ants; Hemiptera, which includes true bugs; and Diptera, which includes flies and mosquitoes.The study focused on various types of insects, including Hymenoptera (such as wasps, bees, and ants); Diptera (including mosquitos and hoverflies); Coleoptera (including beetles); Araneae (including spiders); Orthoptera (including grasshoppers and crickets); Hemiptera (including cicadas); and Odonata (including dragonflies).
According to Deans, many of these insects, like butterflies, have been mentioned in haiku as far back as the 1500s, indicating their longstanding cultural significance. However, spiders were not commonly referenced in literature until the 1950s. This suggests that certain insects were consistently mentioned throughout history, while others only gained attention more recently. Bees, wasps, and related insects appear to be particularly prominent in literature.en much more recently.”
The researchers also kept track of the traits that were mentioned, and found that the most commonly referenced traits were related to ecology, such as habitat and time of day; behavior, particularly sound production; physical traits, especially color; and movement, especially flight.
Porturas stated that they used the results to improve this year’s Hexapod Haiku Challenge. Participants are given the opportunity to submit an extra haiku if they took part in the special aquatic arthropods challenge, or already submitted a haiku that specifically mentions aquatic arthropods.
“We encouraged people to go out and”Look at the insects in streams and ponds and create a haiku about their lives,” she suggested. “Hopefully, this will encourage more people to learn about these important insects and spend time in their habitats.”
Deans mentioned that they plan to carry out more research in the future, including studies with more extensive texts, to draw more conclusive findings about how the public perceives different arthropods.
