Current Events > Is it possible to genetically modify an insect to the size of, say...

(+) Yeah! (+)

An elephant? What would it take to sustain a bug of that size, biologically?

Just curious. Not planning anything dangerous at all.
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I think I read somewhere that an exoskeleton of that size would be too heavy.
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IIRC their body tissue can't support that size so they would literally be crushed under their own weight
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I think insects being that small has something to do with the atmospheric oxygen, and the fact that their exoskeletons were not made to support huge bug weight
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The same "science" thinks bees can't fly and the Earth is flat.

Checkmate Liberals.
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Insects have an open circulatory system as opposed to one with veins.

They get too large, it becomes insufficient to perfuse with oxygen.
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Heavy exoskeleton and open circulatory system huh...this requires further research
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You could have an elephant make love to a pig

I wonder if it would be possible to engineer a giant bug if you raised it in a controlled, oxygen-rich environment.

Like, not an elephant sized one. But like the giant prehistoric dragonflies that were like 3 feet long.
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Darklit_Minuet posted...

You could have an elephant make love to a pig

Oooh tonight! Oh it's right! Ooh tonight is right for love...love gravy!

eston posted...

IIRC their body tissue can't support that size so they would literally be crushed under their own weight

Yeah, this.

They're small for a reason.
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Solar_Crimson posted...

They're small for a reason.

And that reason is that no one would want to live in a world with giant bugs.
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Interesting video
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DuranOfForcena posted...

Kurzgesagt (In A Nutshell

God I love that channel
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BLAKUboy posted...

Solar_Crimson posted...

They're small for a reason.

And that reason is that no one would want to live in a world with giant bugs.

I would honestly rather have a bear sized population of giant bugs than the hordes of tiny bugs we have now.
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BLAKUboy posted...

Solar_Crimson posted...

They're small for a reason.

And that reason is that no one would want to live in a world with giant bugs.

Unless that world is the Pokemon world.
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Solar_Crimson posted...

Unless that world is the Pokemon world.

They're not giant bugs though. They're giant (or slightly above average in some cases) Pokemon.
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scar the 1 posted...

I think I read somewhere that an exoskeleton of that size would be too heavy.

Good ol' square-cube law wrecking TC's dreams.

exoskeletons are shit at maintaining their structure after a certain point. gravity would cause the bug to collapse in itself
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Questionmarktarius posted...

scar the 1 posted...

I think I read somewhere that an exoskeleton of that size would be too heavy.

Good ol' square-cube law wrecking TC's dreams.

I'll find a work-around, in time
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http://earthsky.org/earth/why-were-prehistoric-insects-so-huge
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https://listverse.com/2013/01/14/10-prehistoric-bugs-that-could-seriously-mess-you-up/

J. rhenaniae fossils were first discovered in Germany in 2007. We now know that the creature was a truly monstrous sea scorpion, reaching eight feet (2.4 m) in length. In fact, a single one of its pincers was more than 18 inches (46 cm) long. A scorpion the size of a crocodile was certainly a predator to be reckoned with; it prowled the seas until the Permian extinction 250 million years ago.

Arthropleura was an ancestor to centipedes and millipedes. It could reach more than eight feet (2.4 m) in length, and the fatter creatures could be several feet widethink, for a moment, of something like that brushing up against your leg. It was so massive that despite being an invertebrate it probably had very few predators, and it is by far the largest invertebrate species ever unearthed.

Arthropleura lived from the Carboniferous to the early Permian periodthroughout what is now North America and Scotlandaround 300 million years ago. Strangely, even though its monstrous form would have allowed it to prey on most anything, Arthropleura was entirely herbivorous (as shown by the fossilized remnants of its stomach). It wouldnt have taken any magic to resize this bug for James giant peach.

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most insects don't have any kind of respiratory system so the only way they can actually get oxygen to the inner parts of their body is by being really small. a huge insect can't really exist without dramatically redifining what we think of as an insect.
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dolomedes posted...

ChromaticAngel posted...

most insects don't have any kind of respiratory system so the only way they can actually get oxygen to the inner parts of their body is by being really small. a huge insect can't really exist without dramatically redifining what we think of as an insect.

huh? they have tracheae that carries oxygen to various cells throughout their bodies

spiders have tracheae and book lungs!

it's just a much more passive respiratory system

Spiders are not insects raaaaaggggggeeeeeeeeeeeee

Seriously though. I meant like, their respiratory consists of small tubes that air blows through. And it's not all. Just a lot of them.
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darkphoenix181 posted...

https://listverse.com/2013/01/14/10-prehistoric-bugs-that-could-seriously-mess-you-up/

J. rhenaniae fossils were first discovered in Germany in 2007. We now know that the creature was a truly monstrous sea scorpion, reaching eight feet (2.4 m) in length. In fact, a single one of its pincers was more than 18 inches (46 cm) long. A scorpion the size of a crocodile was certainly a predator to be reckoned with; it prowled the seas until the Permian extinction 250 million years ago.

Arthropleura was an ancestor to centipedes and millipedes. It could reach more than eight feet (2.4 m) in length, and the fatter creatures could be several feet widethink, for a moment, of something like that brushing up against your leg. It was so massive that despite being an invertebrate it probably had very few predators, and it is by far the largest invertebrate species ever unearthed.

Arthropleura lived from the Carboniferous to the early Permian periodthroughout what is now North America and Scotlandaround 300 million years ago. Strangely, even though its monstrous form would have allowed it to prey on most anything, Arthropleura was entirely herbivorous (as shown by the fossilized remnants of its stomach). It wouldnt have taken any magic to resize this bug for James giant peach.

Awesome!
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I remember a Bill Nye episode when I was a kid about this.

He made three models out of clay.

A very tiny one that easily held up its weight.

The legs and body were increased proportionally to about the size of squirrel. The legs on the sides could barely hold up the body frame, and over time it slumped down to the ground.

The third model was about the size of a cat. The body was so heavy that the legs couldnt hold up the body even for a second. It had to be held up with additional supports.

I tried to find the video, but I cant seem to find it.
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DuranOfForcena posted...

Solar_Crimson posted...

eston posted...

IIRC their body tissue can't support that size so they would literally be crushed under their own weight

Yeah, this.

They're small for a reason.

it's more than that though. it has to do with a body's heat production and ability to get rid of that heat, and how body volume scales differently with size than body surface area, as well as the differing rates at which cells in different animals produce work and generate heat. this recent video from Kurzgesagt (In A Nutshell) explains it really well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUWUHf-rzks

Came itt to post that video. Love that channel
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