this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 71 points 1 month ago (8 children)

So if I understand you correctly, if I remove my lungs, I’m a bee? My aunt had lung cancer, so they’ll probably kill me, anyway. I’ll report back on the results.

[–] tahoe@lemmy.world 80 points 1 month ago (10 children)

No because you’re likely too big (no offense) :(

I think insects have little holes all over their bodies, in which air gets inside by itself through some physics shenanigans. It doesn’t need to be actively sucked in like with lungs, it just happens because they’re so small.

This method doesn’t scale up though since if you’re bigger, you need more air, and having little holes all over your body won’t cut it. Thats when you know you need lungs, and that’s why you don’t see insects the size of a dog these days (thankfully).

There used to be times in the Earth’s history (Carboniferous) where the air’s composition was different though, and since it had more oxygen in it, insects could grow a lot larger.

[–] Metz@lemmy.world 51 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Fun fact: Cutaneous respiration (aka "Skin breathing") is something we humans do too. But it accounts only for 1% to 2% of our oxygen input.

However, the cornea of ​​our eyes doesn't have its own blood vessels to supply it. Therefore, it relies on direct gas exchange with the environment—in other words, skin respiration.

Our eyes breath like bees.

[–] dave@feddit.uk 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Is that why bees can't wear contact lenses?

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 40 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No, it's because they have compound eyes. Even if they could afford all the different lenses they need, they'd never have enough time to put them in and take them out, while still working a full day.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

surely they could just make one big lens with facets in it? sure they're gonna be hellishly expensive but at least they're usable

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Honestly, I was already out of my depth with the entomology and ophthalmology discussed here. The economics of bee optometry might be a bridge too far for me. Can a bee make enough honey to afford such lenses? If so, does it improve the bee's ability to make honey enough to justify the cost? I have no idea and no clue regarding how to investigate this issue.

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[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

So what you're saying is I have two eyes in my beeholes?

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[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

Adding to this, the holes (spiracles) connect to the tracheae, which connect to air sacs. While respiration is almost entirely passive in smaller species, larger species actually force air through the system to aid the otherwise passive process.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_system_of_insects

Side note: Spiders have book lungs. They're not insects, but like insects, they are arthropods.

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[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago (8 children)

Yeah, and if you pluck a chicken, it will be a human, because it's featherless and stands on two legs.

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[–] trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That is almost how it works, but to really become a bee you'll have to turn the lungs into wings. Good luck. I'm looking forward to seeing the result.

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)
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[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If you like reading, maybe a half-way solution could be achieved with book lungs like a spider.

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[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 60 points 1 month ago (6 children)

And, for the most part, humans' lungs don't have bees!

I somehow forgot about bees not having lungs. I knew some other small things didn't.

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[–] count_dongulus@lemmy.world 56 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Beekeepers intentionally use smoke to make bees docile during collection time, transfers, etc

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 9 points 1 month ago (3 children)

However, what I've heard from a beekeeper is that the smoke triggers a flight response in them (from fire) so they consume honey ready to flee, and that's actual what makes them docile/drowsy.

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 19 points 1 month ago

You're telling me the bees get the munchies when they smoke...

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[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 52 points 1 month ago (4 children)

This is (fortunately) why there's a maximum size on insects. The environment is less oxygen rich today than in the eras of giant insects in the past. They reach a size where oxygen can't penetrate deeply enough onto their bodies.

[–] excral@feddit.org 16 points 1 month ago (4 children)

It's all based on a very fundamental mathematical law: if you increase the size of something, the volume increases with the third power while the surface area increases with the second power. An insect twice as large would be 8x as heavy and need 8x as much oxygen but 4x as much surface area.

That's also the reason why insects are as strong as they are. The strength of a muscle scales primarily with the cross section area of it, which again scales with the second power. So if you'd increase the weight of an ant by a factor 10,000,000 (e.g. 5mg to 50kg), the expected strength would increase by 10,000,000^(2/3) ≈ 46,400. If it could lift 10x it's weight at the original size, it could now only lift about 4.6% of it's weight

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[–] Anomalocaris@lemm.ee 13 points 1 month ago (7 children)

maybe once I have money for hobbies, but I really want to make oxygen rich terrariums, and selectively breed tarantulas to see if I can make them larger.

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[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 37 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Insects don't have lungs. It also means their potential size is directly limited by the oxygen content in the air.

Which is why we don't see cat sized insects roaming around.

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Which is why you don't see cat sized insects roaming around, I live next to a tarantula trail and some of them fuckers get BIG.

[–] samus12345@lemm.ee 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Spiders aren't insects. Though like them, they don't have lungs! Not ones like ours, anyway.

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[–] LordOfLocksley@lemmy.world 32 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Huh, the Greek hero Spiracles saved the bees

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[–] Alpha71@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 68 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Not just bees, it's true of all insects.

Consequently, the amount of oxygen in the air determines how big bugs can grow. Get too big, and the oxygen can't diffuse into the body fast enough. This even shows up in the fossil records, with larger bugs being found alongside evidence of eras that had more oxygen in the atmosphere.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 month ago

They aren't insects, but most arachnids have book lungs, which are basically a pocket full of air gills.

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[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Hold on, wait a minute, pause. There are people who think that bugs have lungs?

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 32 points 1 month ago (3 children)

To be fair, while bugs and other insects don't have lungs, some arthropods do. The differences among arthropods, insects and bugs aren't exactly common knowledge.

[–] TomasEkeli@programming.dev 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

some have book-lungs not true lungs. Only us fish have "true" lungs

edit: this thread turned into nerd-heaven. i love it!

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Agreed. I was referring to book lungs.

Also, I feel like you got some 'splainin' to do regarding the fish reference.

[–] frigidaphelion@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago (17 children)

In a nutshell: speaking cladistically, there is no such thing as a fish, or alternatively, all tetrapods are fish. You cant define a monophyletic group that includes "fish" that doesnt also include humans (and all other tetrapods eg birds and such). That's my understanding anyway

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[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

It's funny that this is biology in 4th grade and half the people here are shocked

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[–] MyNameIsIgglePiggle@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Well that's a Christmas spiracle

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[–] match@pawb.social 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

they don't have circulatory systems either they've basically just pushing things through themselves and tryna make it work

[–] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Pedant here. They absolutely do have circulatory systems. They have what's known as an open circulatory system, whereas we have a closed circulatory system.

[–] NoOutlinesBand@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

"I've been trying to quit smoking. I want to take better care of my spiracles"

[–] Wilco@lemm.ee 11 points 1 month ago

Wait until this person hears about fish.

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (6 children)

don't beekeepers use smoke or some such?

[–] Leeks@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago (10 children)

Yup. It simulates a forest fire and encourages them to gorge themselves on honey and leave the hive. They get less protective of the hive (because they think it is doomed) which makes it easier to work. They will check back in under an hour to see if the hive made it, and if so, will regurgitate the honey back and continue on with their day.

[–] WrenFeathers@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Bees are so fricking cool.

[–] Leeks@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Fun additional bee fact! Bee hives have personalities and each hive has a different one! Some hives are very easy going and have no problems being worked. Other hives don’t like to be touched and will get defensive quickly. When working hives, one of the things you look for is bees lining up on the edge of a frame staring you down. If you see that, hit them with some more smoke else you are about to be stung!

[–] WrenFeathers@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)
[–] Leeks@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Bees navigate using the sun. It doesn’t really seem that they make a map, but more seem to know where they are by the process of directions that got them there. When they return to the hive they just reverse the way they got there. If you stand in front of the entrance to a bee hive for a few minutes then turn around to face away from the hive, you will see a swarm of bees flying in a holding pattern waiting for you to move so they can return. Once you move the entrance to the hive gets really busy. They don’t seem to know to go around you, they just wait till the path is clear!

[–] WrenFeathers@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You realize I would have you posting bee facts all day if I could, right?

[–] Leeks@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Here’s another for the road: mites are a big problem for bees. They latch on to the bees and the bees don’t feel them. One way bee keepers can encourage bees to clean themselves and knock off the mites is by covering the bees in powdered sugar! This makes it look like there are a bunch of powder white bees flying around for a while.

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