Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1874-02-25
Muscular Strength of Insects.

y
naturalist, and son Of the celebrated
physician, has lately tried some very
delicate experiments 10 measure the
muscular strength OF insects, as others
have done with man and the horse.
The strength Of the last two is esti-
mated by the aid Of a machine called
dynamometer, whore the tension of
spring is counterbalanced by an ef.
fort exercised. for very short time.
A man, IL is found, has a power OF
traction equal TO fve-sixths of his
weight /; horse, only the half or two
thirds of his weight but this is very
small in comparison with tho strength
Of insects, many Of which can draw
forty times that amount
Tho way in which NJ. Plateau has
measured these powers is ingenious.
He harnossed the insects by hori-
zontal thread, which was passed over
a light movable pulley to this was
attached balance loaded with few
grains of sand. To prevent the insect
turning aside, he made it walk between
two bars Of glass on board covered
with muslin, so as TO afford rough
surface exciting it forward, he grad
ually poured fresh sand into the bal
ance until it refused TO advance far
tber; the sand and the insect were then
weighed, and the experiment was re-
peatcd, three times, in order to arrive
at correct conclusion as TO the great
est effort that each could make. The
tables which give the results Of these
trials, seem clearly to demonstrate that
in the same group Of insects the light
est and smallest possess the greatest
strength, or that the relative force is
in inverse ratio to the weight. This
law applies also to the experiments in
flying and pushing, as we'll as to draw
ing.
Tho strongest insects appear 10 be
those SO familiar to the naturalist,
which live on lilies and roses, such as
tho Crioceres and 7richies. These lit
tie beings can draw weight about
forty times superior TO their own, and
one, an athlete of the tribe, drew six
ty-seven times its own weight. A
small beetle Of the tribe dnomaie has
executed the same feat. Another
more remarkable fact is related OF
horn-beetle, which held between its
mandibles, alternately raising and
lowering it's head aud breast, a rod
thirty ccntimetcrs long, weighing four
hundred grammes; its own weight
was but two grammes. AT the side
OF this insect, what arc the acrobats
who can carry table between their
teeth ! Such examples show to what
an extent insects are superior TO the
larger animals in the strength Of their
muscles. Dry and nervous, they can,
In proportion 10 themselves, move
mountains. In addition to this, they
are ingenious: when an obstacle does
not yield to them, they know how to
turn it aside. One day, in a garden,
small wasp was trying to raise a
caterpillar which IL had just killed.
The caterpillar was at least five or six
times heavier than its oonqueror, which
could not gain its end. Six times sue.
ccssively, weary of the war, ind des.
pairing Of success, il abandoned its
prey, and sadly placed itself ut some
distance. At last n bright idea saved
1t from the embarrassment it return
ed, placed itself across the caterpillar,
as II on horseback with its two mid
die feet II embraced the body of its
victim, raised it against its breast, and
managed TO walk on the four feet
which were at liberty thus it soon
crossed walk six feet wide.
Investigations have been made re-
gardipg the jumping insects of tho
order Orfhopterd-the weight which
crickets and grasshoppers can raise
when jumping To prevent them
using their wings, M Plateau tied
them and the elytra, or outer sheaths,
with q thread. The burden was q
ball of wax ballasted with morscls OF
lead, which was HING TO thread tied
round the thorax lead was gradually
added TO tho wax until the insect could
only raise itself an inch from tho
ground. The ball and the insect werc
afterward weighed, the latter having
been made insensbe by tLe fumes OF
ether. Crickcts OF tho larger kind
raised one and a half times their own
weight; tho smaller ones threc or
four timcs their weight. The grass.
hopper differs from tho cricket 10 hav-
ing longer aud thinner legsj tho grcen
variety, weighing about two and a-half
grammes, can only raise weight equal
10 its own, confirming tho law chat
the muscular force Of Insects increase
as their siEo diminishcs. When al.
lowed 10 jump freely, crickets describe
a curve In the air similar 10 all pro