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More bemusing w --Boundary_(ID_zzKYYedjWeMRAsYQ+tcUlg) Content-type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable We often hear this said about insects and how strong they are. I suspect that the main reason insects seem so strong is merely the = scale factor. If ants are so mighty, why are there no really large ants = around? Clearly, there is a scale factor which limits their size. It = is not possible to build a viable ant larger than a certain size. I cannot find any reference proving that ant muscles are actually = stronger by weight than muscles in other creatures. Who knows? It = might be interesting to find out. But it seems to me that the relative = strength of a muscle is roughly proportional to its cross-sectional = area. As one scales up the size of a muscle, the volume increases as = the cube of the linear dimension, but the cross-sectional area only as = the square. So a bigger animal will have trouble keeping up = proportionate strength as it gets larger. We could see this in a jumping contest. I have seen a wild Norway Rat = leap laterally about 3 m, which is many times (perhaps x15) his length. = A human Olympic athlete can't jump proportionally so far; and a bear = (strong as he seems to us) is even a shorter jumper. And they say that = an elephant is totally unable to jump at all! Thus in a weight-lifting contest where the load is calculated as a = multiple of the contestant=92s body weight, the small animals (other = things being equal) should win. Insects, of course, are not formed at = all like vertebrates, and in their size range an exoskeleton could have = many advantages. Exoskeletons do not work at all in our size range, = which is why there are not any really gigantic insects (except in our = nightmares, or in sci-fi movies). Similarly, we cannot scale humans down to ant size, and there are no = mammals with that tiny an adult size. Birds are another great example of scaling. Most birds are small. Only = a few get very large, and as they do, they have more and more trouble = taking off. The largest cannot fly at all. So, whenever we hear that a certain insect has remarkable abilities at = lifting weight or jumping, we should be impressed =97 but not too much, = for they are in a size range which puts them in a different league from = us mammals. Then if we can figure out the importance of the size factor = in biomechanics, we will really be getting somewhere in understanding = how different creatures work. On 25 Sep 2010, at 4:25 PM, D W Bridgehouse wrote: > Since wasps , bees and ants are lumped into same order of Hymenoptera = its also interesting that ants can carry items 10 =96 50 times their own = body weight.Ants are small but they are very strong for their size. If = you were that strong you could lift an automobile. The ants carry or = drag heavy loads for food back to their nests. The food may be parts of = plants or bits of dead animals. >=20 > More food for thought J >=20 > =20 > =20 > From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca = [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of andy dean > Sent: September-25-10 12:57 PM > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Subject: [NatureNS] Wasp question > =20 > Attention of any budding or professional entyologists in the = group. > =20 > One morning recently my wife and I discovered about 50 dead wasps on = the garage floor , just inside the door, and attributed it to a natural = 'end-of-season' phenomenon....does that seem correct? > More bemusing was the fact that whilst we sat with the garage door = open, drinking our morning coffee, we twice witnessed a wasp fly in and = after examining a corpse lift it and fly off with it.....anybody know = what that was all about? > It was mind-boggling to realize that the weight of the corpse in = relation to the live wasp would have been the equivalent of me lifting = my wife bodily off the ground and flying off with her ......a sobering = thought ! > =20 > Andy and Lelia Dean > 86 Baden Powell Drive > Kentville, N.S. > (902) 678-6243 --Boundary_(ID_zzKYYedjWeMRAsYQ+tcUlg) Content-type: text/html; charset=windows-1252 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <html><head><base href=3D"x-msg://40/"></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: = break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: = after-white-space; ">We often hear this said about insects and how = strong they are.<div><br></div><div>I suspect that the main reason = insects <i>seem</i> so strong is merely the scale factor. If ants = are so mighty, why are there no really large ants around? Clearly, = there is a scale factor which limits their size. It is not = possible to build a viable ant larger than a certain = size.</div><div><br></div><div>I cannot find any reference proving that = ant muscles are actually stronger by weight than muscles in other = creatures. Who knows? It might be interesting to find out. = But it seems to me that the relative strength of a muscle is = roughly proportional to its cross-sectional area. As one scales up = the size of a muscle, the volume increases as the cube of the linear = dimension, but the cross-sectional area only as the square. So a = bigger animal will have trouble keeping up proportionate strength as it = gets larger.</div><div><br></div><div>We could see this in a jumping = contest. I have seen a wild Norway Rat leap laterally about 3 m, = which is many times (perhaps x15) his length. A human Olympic = athlete can't jump proportionally so far; and a bear (strong as he seems = to us) is even a shorter jumper. And they say that an elephant is = totally unable to jump at all!</div><div><br></div><div>Thus in a = weight-lifting contest where the load is calculated as a multiple of the = contestant=92s body weight, the small animals (other things being equal) = should win. Insects, of course, are not formed at all like = vertebrates, and in their size range an exoskeleton could have many = advantages. Exoskeletons do not work at all in our size range, = which is why there are not any really gigantic insects (except in our = nightmares, or in sci-fi movies).</div><div><br></div><div>Similarly, we = cannot scale humans down to ant size, and there are no mammals with that = tiny an adult size.</div><div><br></div><div>Birds are another great = example of scaling. Most birds are small. Only a few get = very large, and as they do, they have more and more trouble taking off. = The largest cannot fly at all.</div><div><br></div><div>So, = whenever we hear that a certain insect has remarkable abilities at = lifting weight or jumping, we should be impressed =97 but not too much, = for the