This cache is part of an occasional series about Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The cache is not located at the posted coordinates. No climbing is required to find this cache, and there is no need to cross any streets. Please leave the rubber stamp and stamp pad in the cache. There are two ways to reach the letterbox: one is to solve the puzzle below, the other is to follow the instructions provided below the puzzle.
August 19, 2024: As the Lepidoptera in the letterbox instructions below are no longer present, it is now necessary to solve the puzzle to find the cache (recommended to do this from home as you will probably need internet access)
Margaret Fountaine (1862-1940) was a prolific lepidopterist from Norwich, England, who collected thousands of specimens on six continents over the course of fifty years. The genus Fountainea was named after her in 1971.
Her first scientific publication was in 1897. The following year she was elected as a fellow to the Royal Entomological Society where she observed that she was the only female scientist (there was a female visitor). She was among the first women to formally join the Linnean Society which is dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution and taxonomy (fifteen years earlier, Beatrix Potter had been unable to attend the reading of her own paper at the Linnean Society because of her gender).
Here's the puzzle to calculate the final coordinates, make these adjustments to the posted coordinates:
Consider the lepidoptera.
Let A = the number of petals per flower
Let B = the number of sections of the body
Let C = the number of gills
Let D = the number of opposable thumbs divided by the twice the number of prehensile tails
Let E = the number of wings multiplied by the number of legs
Let F = A + B + C + D + E. Subtract F from the decimal of the latitude.
Now think about Margaret Fountaine.
Let G = age in years she would have been when the genus was named after her
Let H = the last digit of the year she was elected as a fellow to the Royal Entomological Society
Let J = G + H. Subtract J from the decimal of the longitude.
As of January 23, 2024, the new container is a "small" (not updated so previous finders still have the "regular" size cache they actually found). It's in the same location as the original, and contains a rubber stamp though no ink pad.
Here are the instructions if you decide not to solve the puzzle. Start at the posted coordinates. Walk down then up the nearby path. If you are sufficiently observant, you will see some non-living lepidoptera. The cache is behind them, at a distance of five feet for each specimen (ie, if you see ten lepidoptera the distance would be fifty feet).