Posted on 08/24/2016 5:01:41 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
If somebody asked you to list all the insects you liked, you could probably give an honest answer in the same breath it takes you to violently exhale after being asked such a ridiculous question. Because unless you’re an entomologist, the answer is always the same: butterflies, dragonflies, and ladybugs—pretty and harmless, and infinitely unlikely to burrow under your skin while you sleep.
But give a dragonfly a chance to grow three feet long, and suddenly they don’t seem quite so harmless. In fact, if the Meganeura, or giant dragonflies, of prehistory were still around, they might be in charge of the planet instead of humans. That’s because dragonflies are some of the most brutal killers in the insect world. For example…
(Excerpt) Read more at listverse.com ...
Bkmrk.
“In fact, if the Meganeura, or giant dragonflies, of prehistory were still around...”
they would be physically incapable of flight under the current atmospheric conditions, so they wouldn’t be very dangerous at all, actually.
I, for one, welcome our new overlords.
Plus the global warming and use of household chemicals would have pushed them to endangered species. And the last remaining ones would end up in the shark penis soup in China.
This one was on my clothesline. They will give you a nasty bite as I discovered many years ago.
Preying Mantis. That’s my bug of bugs. Next to Bugs Bunny, of course.
Very interesting article at the link. Thanks for posting it. I always knew they were cool looking bugs. I had no idea how complex and cool they really are.
If they weren't Earthlings, they'd make great aliens! Hehehe. d;^)
I only know (aside from the fact they’re beautiful to watch) that I read once that they can give a painful swelling bite, so I’ve never tried to catch one. As if anyone could, anyway.
Never been bit by one, but they've landed on me before. I've offered a finger and they've climbed on and hung out for a bit. Guess it's all in how ya approach them. Or not.
They will let you sneak right up to them if you don’t make any sudden moves. I was not over 6 inches from him in that photo. Probably closer.
I took that photo with an old Canon S3 P&S. It was only 5 mp but it would focus almost right to the front lens element.
Actually, they’d be perfectly capable of flight, as the atmosphere wasn’t much denser back then if at all, but they would quickly suffocate, because the O2 concentration is too low to permeate their bodies properly.
I have never seen a dragon fly. But then I have never seen a real dragon either.
Dang,,,
I saw one last week ,buzzing me and my trucks antenna.
It was the most Awsome Red color,
Absolutely Fascinating!
When I was in junior-high school, I tried (unsuccessfully) to catch some with a butterfly net, for an insect collection.
Per the article, they can see behind them.
Per the article, they’re also very maneuverable.
I determined subsequently, however, that they cannot dodge pellets from .22 “birdshot” cartridges, and that at a distance of ten feet or so, the birdshot kills them but still leaves a presentable specimen for the insect collection.
“Actually, they’d be perfectly capable of flight...”
I don’t think so. There’s a reason we don’t have 3 foot long creatures with an exoskeleton flying around anymore, insects or otherwise, because it’s just too heavy a thing to carry around once you size it up. Even creatures with lighter internal skeletons that fly generally have very thin hollow bones. An exoskeleton for anything but the tiniest fliers is flat out in the current atmospheric conditions.
The only way they could have flown is if the atmosphere were at a significantly higher pressure to provide more buoyancy/lift, or if the gravity was lower, and it’s a whole lot more likely that the atmospheric pressure could have varied to the necessary degree than that the mass of the planet could have. Plus, we know that the atmospheric pressure has been steadily decreasing since we have been recording reliable measurements of it, so there is corroborating evidence that you could extrapolate based on if you apply standard uniformitarianism.
“but they would quickly suffocate, because the O2 concentration is too low to permeate their bodies properly.”
Yes, that’s true, and do we know the O2 levels were higher in the past. However, a higher amount of O2 and a higher atmospheric pressure may well have gone hand in hand. We can say with certainty that the atmospheric conditions back then were quite different than today, and we have hard evidence that the composition was different, while we only have inferential evidence that the pressure was higher too.
Mine too. Still recall someone had a theory they were aliens.
They certainly seem to have an intelligence. Sit near one and talk to it and darned if the head will not face you and move as if listening.
That whole cannibalism thing is a bit much, but they are unable to explain their reasoning.
An insect killing machine that’s brutal times ten, you say? Definitely my kind of bug!
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