Cells are tiny, right?
Remember in middle school or high school, looking at unicellular organisms like amoebas and paramecia? Under the microscope they're fascinating, but very very simple. Just one blob. One cell that is able to perform all the functions of life for that simple organism. When you're as small as one cell, it doesn't seem possible for you to have a very complex life.
But wait... here is where your mind will be blown...
There is a wasp called a Fairy Wasp (Family Mymaridae) that is smaller than a unicellular organism!! This parasitoid wasp looks just like other wasps but is super-shrunk down from "normal" wasp size. Its wings look like feathers, and it basically swims through the air (because if you are that small, the air is as viscous as water!).
What boggles my mind is the fact that this wasp has a digestive system, it has wings, it has muscles to power those wings, it has neurons to control all those systems, and it produces eggs in a fully developed reproductive system. All of those body systems are made of cells... but this entire organism is smaller than a cell!!! How can that be?!?!?
So cool...
Yes. I do believe in fairies. How about you? :-)
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Remember in middle school or high school, looking at unicellular organisms like amoebas and paramecia? Under the microscope they're fascinating, but very very simple. Just one blob. One cell that is able to perform all the functions of life for that simple organism. When you're as small as one cell, it doesn't seem possible for you to have a very complex life.
But wait... here is where your mind will be blown...
There is a wasp called a Fairy Wasp (Family Mymaridae) that is smaller than a unicellular organism!! This parasitoid wasp looks just like other wasps but is super-shrunk down from "normal" wasp size. Its wings look like feathers, and it basically swims through the air (because if you are that small, the air is as viscous as water!).
What boggles my mind is the fact that this wasp has a digestive system, it has wings, it has muscles to power those wings, it has neurons to control all those systems, and it produces eggs in a fully developed reproductive system. All of those body systems are made of cells... but this entire organism is smaller than a cell!!! How can that be?!?!?
So cool...
Yes. I do believe in fairies. How about you? :-)
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| Amoeba, Paramecium, and Fairy Wasp! Taken from: http://io9.com/5861630/fairy-wasps-shrink-to-the-size-of-amoeba-by-sacrificing-their-neurons |
*****
“I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.”
— Ansel Adams
Fun story.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could remember my science lessons but I dont.
So, what is this little fairy's main purpose in life?
Just like every other living thing, it's goal is to survive & reproduce before it dies (in its short life span of a few hours to a few days). Like many other poorly-known wasps, it's a parasitiod that lays eggs on other insects' eggs. When the wasp egg hatches, the larva eats the other insect's egg. So these types of wasps are considered "natural enemies" of crop pests. :)
DeleteMmmm. That sounds kinda gross.
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