One long line Marching caterpillars and the scientists who followed them

Hungry pine processionary caterpillars can travel considerable distances when they're searching for food, and they always make these journeys in long, single-file lines. This engaging offering documents the research of two scientists who became fascinated by these unique behavior patterns, even though the men lived in different countries at different times. Jean-Henri Fabre was French and died in 1915; Terrence Fitzgerald is American and was born in 1941. The text carefully lays out how each researcher conducted careful observations, formulated specific questions and hypotheses, and devised ingenious experiments to test their hypotheses. While the "long line" reference in the title alludes to the caterpillar processions, it also speaks to how one discovery led to additional lines of questioning and how Fitzgerald's research followed the path laid out by Fabre and other nineteenth-century entomologists. The text is particularly engaging, and is supported by numerous sidebars, illustrations, and rich back matter that will be extremely helpful for report writers. This engaging STEM offering has applications that cross curricular areas, provides accessible models of how scientific inquiry works, and introduces a couple of pretty cool scientists as well as a plethora of caterpillars.