Bu g s o f STEEL CyREN WONG
I
am sure that most
where between
of us are no strangers
10 - 50 times its
to the genre of super heroes,
own body weight, and if that
villains, and comic books. Indeed, I
wasn’t enough to impress you, they
don’t think there is anything like the thought
can even do this upside down while cling-
of actually having super powers that
ing on to seemingly smooth sur-
can really get those imagi-
faces such as glass. That’s
native juices flowing! Having
said
pretty amazing!
that,
comic inspired super
Now, while it may
powers do not always
seem quite surprising
lie in the fictional realm. In the natural world, many animals, insects
that an animal that is so small could be capable of such feats
specifically, are similarly known to possess unique and amazing
of strengths, the reason behind all of it boils down to good old
super-power like abilities. The following are a list of the top 5 insect
fashioned physics. More specifically, the concept of “scaling.”
super powers I could come up with. A fair warning, this might just
Because of their relatively small sizes, ants do not have much
change the way you come to regard insects for life!
body mass but with their significant muscle mass which gives them the ability to lift and manipulate objects that are much
Super Strength Super strength is surely a staple superpower in any comic book universe! What would DC comics be without Superman, Marvel without The Incredible Hulk, and the natural world without… the industrious ant?
larger and many times heavier than their own body weight. In fact, this is most often the case with all insects and many other invertebrates that exhibit super-strength to varying degrees. Honey bees for instance, have been observed to be able to lift up to 80 percent of their own body weight… in flight. The same ability is often utilized by Marvel’s very own Ant Man (one of the original members of the Avengers) whose strength increases proportionately as he shrinks. It is not an absolute rule but a general one that the bigger the animals get (and the larger their body mass is) the less able they are to lift objects equal to, or heavier than their own body weight. In the case of the super-strong insects, this is clearly one situation where size works to their advantage.
Flight Another fairly common special power in comic books is the abilAnts are one of the strongest creatures in the animal kingdom as
ity to fly. Virtually 50% of all super heroes and villains possess this
they are capable of lifting several times their own body weight! If
ability, though they may achieve it through different means (be it
you think an elephant is strong, think again!
some form of self-propulsion ala Superman, or through the use of wings ala Angel) and the same may be said for insects.
The actual degree of super-strength varies between every ant species, but on average, each individual ant is capable of lifting any-
70
Almost all insects can fly and those that do not are very likely to