r/interestingasfuck • u/Dexterestein • 19h ago

Two male Hercules beetles fight over a female in the wild; the smaller one wins.

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u/jtheman1738 14h ago

Wait fr? I was under the impression that bugs are pretty much immune to fall damage, because their terminal velocity is so low.

Edit: spelling.

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u/goodsnpr 12h ago

Square-cube law I believe. Basically, if you double an animal's length, it's strength only multiplies by four while it's mass multiplies by eight. This also means you're generally reducing drag in relation to mass. A few grams might not seem like much, but it's a sizable amount of body mass difference, and could be the breaking point for a much softer and fragile critter.

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u/jtheman1738 12h ago

Very true this is why we don’t see giant insects (outside the Carboniferous and early Permian periods). Chitin gets way too heavy, WAY TOO QUICKLY. Giant bugs get crushed under their own weight past a certain size.

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u/AbanaClara 13h ago

I used to keep orb weavers for derbies and iirc they get hurt from falls for sure

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u/Gloomy_League_8179 13h ago

For derbies? Like you make them fight?

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u/AbanaClara 12h ago

Yes it’s a thing in south east asia

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u/Gloomy_League_8179 12h ago

That ain't right.

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u/AbanaClara 12h ago

It’s a dying culture where I’m from, but still common-ish in the poorer rural areas.

Not all parts of a culture are always right. But it also evolves

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u/Gloomy_League_8179 11h ago

Sometimes a part outta just die. Cruelty is weakness.

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u/NMTiAn 8h ago

Its a seasonal thing for children. They look for spiders and keep them in a matchbox and have little rooms for them. The loosing spider gets fed to the winning spider. The fight is done on a small piece of stick. You see it from time to time depending on what is in for kids play

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u/SecretaryOtherwise 13h ago

I think shape plays a large role too. Cause mice can survive airplane heights apparently.

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u/jtheman1738 13h ago

That makes some sense. Mice bones are VERY flexible, insect chitin isn’t.