Insect Chemistry

October 6, 2006 11:59 AM

a bug hit my car's windshield.

it was a large bug so it left a pretty large smear. this happened five days ago.

last night was the first time it rained since then. when i came out to my car this morning on the spot where the bug smear had been there was now a large (at least 10x volume) blob of clear gelatinous (exactly like pure gelatin) material.

what is that about? any ideas?

posted by dminor to grab bag (3 comments total)

Maybe a slug came along and ate the carcass? Or a bird poo'd on the same spot?
posted by JigSawMan at 12:20 PM on October 6, 2006

Well, the 10x volume could be accounted for by absorption of rain water; ie, the bug goo swelled up as it got wet. However, beyond that, I have no idea why a non-clear bug goo would become a transparent gel with the addition of water.
posted by Dunwitty at 3:16 PM on October 6, 2006

clearly it would become transparent because you're adding water to it, so the "solution" is becoming thinner. for example, if you take a teaspoon of ink and add a cup of water to it, a once "non-clear" liquid would become transparent.

it's obvious that this is what happened because of the 10x volume thing- loads of water plus a little goo equals translucent goo!

sounds charming =)
posted by alona at 6:41 PM on October 13, 2006