Another natural wonder. This time brought to you by ants. Trap-jaw ants use their jaws to propel themselves into the air to evade predators. They can achieve heights of just over 8cm. That translates into a 40ft vertical for an average size human.
Gah! 8 cm… but 40 ft? C’mon, 12 m. If you’re going to doggedly stick with backasswards Imperial measurements, you should be committed to it. Instead of 8 cm you should have written 3 and 77/512ths inches.
It would look like ‘Matrix’ if they landed on their feet ! This is cool.
brad
on 23 Jul 08
Even plants have some pretty amazing behaviors. Consider the common jack-in-the-pulpit plant, which starts out as a male and grows for several years that way until it can amass enough energy in its rootstock to become a female and produce seeds. If you accidentally step on a female jack-in-the-pulpit or cut it down in mid-summer, it will come up next year as a male.
Another cool plant behavior is more instant: the common mountain laurel, which is often used as an ornamental shrub, uses spring-loaded stamens to get pollen on the bees and butterflies that visit it. The stamens all sit well back of the pistil, nestled against the petals, but once an insect inserts its proboscis into the bottom of the flower to suck out the nectar, the stamens release and pop forward, showering the insect with pollen. You can duplicate the effect yourself by inserting a broom straw, a piece of monofilament, or other stiff but thin material down into the center of the flower. You’ll see the ripe stamens spring forward; any stamens that haven’t fully formed their pollen load yet will remain back against the petals.
GeeIWonder
on 23 Jul 08
If you accidentally step on a female jack-in-the-pulpit or cut it down in mid-summer, it will come up next year as a male
What if you deliberately step on one? ;)
Bander
on 23 Jul 08
apmeehan: Yes. I thought the same thing … it really gives you a sense of the “impact” they can withstand. Ouch. Makes you wonder what they feel when their little head goes bouncing off the ground like a rag doll.
Crazy – so I guess they just jump for fun as well? It doesn’t look like any of the ants in the film where agitated in any way (well maybe at the end). Cool stuff – even though I friggin’ hate insects.
Nick
on 23 Jul 08
The scientist who discovered this species was interviewed on Quirks & Quarks – Canada’s science radio show – some time ago. You can listen to it here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/sep16.html (scroll down a bit)
The ant also holds the world record for the fastest moving appendage – the jaws move at up to 64m/s, generating a force 300 times that of gravity.
jurgen k
on 23 Jul 08
This footage is from the Wholphin DVD series, which is a great collection of short and rare films. They also do interesting things in playing with our traditional views of DVD menus.
brad
on 23 Jul 08
What if you deliberately step on one? ;)
That’s when things really get interesting: Jack pops up out of his newly squashed pulpit and spits fire and brimstone at you until you fall to the ground and beg for mercy. Plants are amazing, really.
Charles
on 23 Jul 08
Know I know why my build tool is called ANT. It can be so frustrating, you just flip out.
Anonymous Coward
on 23 Jul 08
To create such things…God is amazing.
This discussion is closed.
About Jason Fried
Jason co-founded Basecamp back in 1999. He also co-authored REWORK, the New York Times bestselling book on running a "right-sized" business. Co-founded, co-authored... Can he do anything on his own?
Dhrumil
on 22 Jul 08This is sweet.
Between Jason K and Jason F, I think you guys could have a great nature blog.
Dhrumil
on 22 Jul 08Peep this: death and regeneration of a frog
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gEa3_mlCX9g
apmeehan
on 23 Jul 08Does anyone else find it fascinating how similar the scaled down physics of their leaps and falls appear to ours when slowed down?
With their flailing limbs and (relatively) high falls, I instinctually found myself almost cringing at the seeming violence of their crash-landings.
Chuck LeDuc Díaz
on 23 Jul 08Gah! 8 cm… but 40 ft? C’mon, 12 m. If you’re going to doggedly stick with backasswards Imperial measurements, you should be committed to it. Instead of 8 cm you should have written 3 and 77/512ths inches.
Piyush
on 23 Jul 08It would look like ‘Matrix’ if they landed on their feet ! This is cool.
brad
on 23 Jul 08Even plants have some pretty amazing behaviors. Consider the common jack-in-the-pulpit plant, which starts out as a male and grows for several years that way until it can amass enough energy in its rootstock to become a female and produce seeds. If you accidentally step on a female jack-in-the-pulpit or cut it down in mid-summer, it will come up next year as a male.
Another cool plant behavior is more instant: the common mountain laurel, which is often used as an ornamental shrub, uses spring-loaded stamens to get pollen on the bees and butterflies that visit it. The stamens all sit well back of the pistil, nestled against the petals, but once an insect inserts its proboscis into the bottom of the flower to suck out the nectar, the stamens release and pop forward, showering the insect with pollen. You can duplicate the effect yourself by inserting a broom straw, a piece of monofilament, or other stiff but thin material down into the center of the flower. You’ll see the ripe stamens spring forward; any stamens that haven’t fully formed their pollen load yet will remain back against the petals.
GeeIWonder
on 23 Jul 08If you accidentally step on a female jack-in-the-pulpit or cut it down in mid-summer, it will come up next year as a male
What if you deliberately step on one? ;)
Bander
on 23 Jul 08apmeehan: Yes. I thought the same thing … it really gives you a sense of the “impact” they can withstand. Ouch. Makes you wonder what they feel when their little head goes bouncing off the ground like a rag doll.
Matt Radel
on 23 Jul 08Crazy – so I guess they just jump for fun as well? It doesn’t look like any of the ants in the film where agitated in any way (well maybe at the end). Cool stuff – even though I friggin’ hate insects.
Nick
on 23 Jul 08The scientist who discovered this species was interviewed on Quirks & Quarks – Canada’s science radio show – some time ago. You can listen to it here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/sep16.html (scroll down a bit)
The ant also holds the world record for the fastest moving appendage – the jaws move at up to 64m/s, generating a force 300 times that of gravity.
jurgen k
on 23 Jul 08This footage is from the Wholphin DVD series, which is a great collection of short and rare films. They also do interesting things in playing with our traditional views of DVD menus.
brad
on 23 Jul 08What if you deliberately step on one? ;)
That’s when things really get interesting: Jack pops up out of his newly squashed pulpit and spits fire and brimstone at you until you fall to the ground and beg for mercy. Plants are amazing, really.
Charles
on 23 Jul 08Know I know why my build tool is called ANT. It can be so frustrating, you just flip out.
Anonymous Coward
on 23 Jul 08To create such things…God is amazing.
This discussion is closed.