In 1915 Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouts movement, published his DIY guide to espionage, My Adventures as a Spy.

[T]he book’s ideas to utilise such natural objects as butterflies, moths and leaves worked to mythologize British resourcefulness and promote a certain “weaponization of the pastoral”.

[T]he entomologist is a particularly useful cover, for who would suspect a scholarly gentleman sketching the antennae of turf ants to be secretly observing the construction of a hydroelectric dam?

My Adventures as a Spy takes the bug to a whole new level, graphically illustrating that entomological drawings themselves may be used to conceal maps and diagrams of enemy fortifications.

But still…insect-aided espionage is a great idea.

Via The Public Domain Review for the full article.