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Using Scissors To Quantify Hardness Of Insects: Do Bats Select For Size Or Hardness?, Patricia W. Freeman, Cliff A. Lemen
Using Scissors To Quantify Hardness Of Insects: Do Bats Select For Size Or Hardness?, Patricia W. Freeman, Cliff A. Lemen
University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers
Scissors are used to determine the hardness of fresh insects of different size and taxa. Our results indicate a strong relationship between the size of an insect and its hardness, which can be expressed as log(Fmax) = 0.65 × log(V) + α. Fmax is the maximal force needed to cut the insect and is our measure of insect hardness. V is the volume of the insect and α is a constant that can be derived for different insect taxa. The value of 0.65 was found as an average of beetle and moth samples, and this …