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person in the world who c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca wrote: > Hi Dave et al.! > > On 20-Oct-07, at 4:36 PM, David & Alison Webster wrote: > > >> Dear All, Oct 20, 2007 >> >> I found Featherwing Beetles (Ptiliidae; about 1-mm long; new to >> me) on Oct 11 and this being, after the warm rain, a time when things >> might be active I looked for and found several more today. >> > > Fabulous beetles aren't they? ;-> What habitat are you finding them in? > Hi Chris & All, Oct 20, 2007 Thanks for the background comments. I found these in the compost heap. >> By the looks of it, this beetle should be easily able to float on >> a rising column of warm air and I wonder if in fact they can do this. >> > > We actually discuss this in our AME chapter, since some authors (i.e. > Pringle 1957) have suggested that the beetles move around through > passive flotation in the manner of dandelion seeds. However, this is > an erroneous notion, as one can easily observe directed flight > behavior in various situations, for instance in searching for their > ephemeral breeding sites such as dung, compost, and decomposing fungi. > Despite their tiny size, and unusual wings, they can fly with the same > (or even better) facility as many other species of beetles. > But note that ability for directed flight does not prove inability to float on rising air (passive flotation); hawks and the like. Calculating the terminal velocity of a spherical body is, thanks to Stokes, is a piece of cake. But non-spherical is another matter and is perhaps fodder for a mid-winter project/discussion as some on the list may know how to do this. Yt, DW > > Cheers! > > > Chris > > _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. > > Christopher Majka - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History > > 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3A6 > > (902) 424-6435 Email < c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca > <mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> > > > _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. > >
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