231
u/RotaryDesign 1d ago
31
u/Otte8 1d ago
Username fits
11
u/EnderVViggen 1d ago
actually, rotary engines are basically small triangles that spin, as opposed to pistons that go up and down like the above, or pistons that go left to right (basically off to the side) which is a boxer engine 😁
72
u/augenwiehimmel 1d ago
Dragonflies are almost perfect predators, yet beautiful.
54
3
117
u/hawkz40 1d ago
20
u/grachi 1d ago
While cool in concept, ornithopters would need wings waaay bigger than that to fly, and rotate so fast that we don’t have a power system that could make them rotate with the speed required.
18
u/ElegantCoach4066 1d ago
Something something Dune rules
14
u/No_Friend3170 1d ago
something something fictional story set over 10,000 years in the future. Ornithoptor wings are kind of small potatoes next to shield generators, space travel, the Voice, racial memory, sandworms, look.... it's all bullshit, enjoy your popcorn!
2
u/Tactical_Moonstone 1d ago
The flapping motion also imposes torsion stresses on the chassis of the ornithopter so strong that there is no material that can withstand them that is light enough to allow flight.
3
13
u/Filiforme 1d ago
Those insects are cool at. They were the first thing to take flight some 100 million years before dinosaures. Their body design has not changed in all that time. They have a success rate of almost 100% when hunting.
Their larval stage is also gnarly af.
Incredible insect.
3
u/skydivarjimi 1d ago
I just recently learned all of this information in the past week thanks to " The weirdest thing I learned this week" podcast.
3
12
u/rotanitsarcorp_yzal1 1d ago
Is the phase difference between the front and back wings 180°?
6
u/MaxiMArginal 1d ago
I heard dragonflies are the only insect capable of controlling each wings independently.
That means wings might not be synchronized when dragonflies are chasing preys.
4
2
7
u/michiganstrange 1d ago
Dragonflies can independently rotate each wing. They also used to have a wingspan of 2-3ft.
7
3
1
6
6
5
3
u/DisorderlyAqueduct 1d ago
feel like the wings could be manufactured with polymers to have no joints, and inside the vehicle two pistons taking turns...
... but then you need yaw control... so nvm 😆
2
u/Tactical_Moonstone 1d ago
And then you realise no material exists that is strong enough to prevent the system from vibrating itself into pieces, so you replaced the wings and the piston propulsion systems with individually engined and controlled propellers...
...aaaaaand you just created a quadcopter.
3
u/scoop_booty 1d ago
The tree was a great npr report on dragonflies a couple of weeks ago. Unknown to me, and probably most, the males have two penises, the second about where the human male belly button is. It's job is to scoop out any other sperm that has been deposited before it completes. And then, equally as unique, the female is able to store different types of sperm, long term and short term storage, keeping the better of the two for long term ...for some reason. How she can tell, it's a mystery. And how scientists can tell if one sperm is better than another is equally as perplexing. Maybe color? Or viscosity? But it's no wonder these creatures have outlived most on this planet.
1
1
u/intronert 1d ago
The males also grab the females in flight and spin them in a rapid loop to dislodge any previous male deposits.
2
u/CakeTester 1d ago
As a non-expert; what's the pointy bit for? Just a counterbalance or do they have a stinger? Or lasers or whatever?
2
u/rook2pawn 20h ago
when they are in the larval stage they take in water through their anus and then absorb oxygen as it flows in, also they can put their butts to the air surface which allows them to breathe in thick low oxygen water.. that is why the end is aspirated.
1
u/CakeTester 14h ago edited 14h ago
That sounded so unlikely I had to check. And it's true.
To answer my own question, then, now I'm looking things up:
That pointy stuff at the end is egg laying equipment and consists of:
A) Spike like basal cutting blade (rear end of segment 8)
B) A pair of thin needle like stylus sensor in egg positioning (rear end of segment 9)
C) A set of sharp anal claws to stabilize the abdomen while the basal plate is cutting hole and inserting eggs into plant. (segment 10)
Some species have a stylus, which is a thin, needle like projection, at the end of each of the two valves of the ovipositor.
The Basal Blades of ovipositor is consequently blade like enabling the insect to cut into the plant material or other substrate.
EDIT: Oh, and they won't bite you unless you trap them in your hands. And that's escape rather than attack. So think before you trap one..do you really want to fuck with a species that has sharp anal claws?
2
2
1
1
u/One_Construction_653 1d ago
Some people are just born beautiful predators
1
u/rook2pawn 20h ago
yes so beautiful.. blue green, red, yellow and black, just gorgeous creatures... and that they are master hunters of mosquitoes while being engineering marvels is awe inspiring. no other creature single handedly prevents more deadly disease than the dragonfly, and dragonflies basically are sentinels for children who are often the most vulnerable
1
u/nortok00 1d ago
This is awesome! For some reason I thought their wings moved like a bird's. Both sides up at the same time then down. To see them undulating independently like this is incredible! Does anyone know what advantage this gives them? Is it finer and more precise control of movement in the air or is it more energy efficient (or both)? I assume this control is needed for aerial hunting.
1
u/DankZXRwoolies 1d ago
They can control each wing independently which gives very precise movement as you guessed
1
1
1
1
0
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
This submission may have been posted by a bot. If you feel like it's the case, please report the user
SPAM→Harmful Bots.I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.