07-17-03, 02:28 PM DorianGreyed Your source lists Houseflies as "the most dangerous animal on Earth" (#4) and the mosquito as "the most dangerous animal in the world" (#30). Perhaps you could ask them to explain the difference to those of us that live in this world, which is generally called Earth. I would like to see that explanation. While you are at it, please ask about the airspeed record (98 mph) given. No other source that I Googled (15 pages worth) gave that. All gave speeds from 35 mph to 60 mph. Any source that has conflicting "facts" and obvious errors is suspect. Again, I am not doubting, or I didn't doubt, the fact you gave, but I would like to see an authoritative source. The one you provided proved not to be one.
07-18-03, 11:17 AM coldfuse I have contacted the Bohart Museum and they admit to an editorial error with regard to the "most dangerous."
In my humble opinion, the characterization does not detract from the facts provided. The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California must be regarded as an authoritative source.
07-18-03, 07:31 PM Kelleygirl I would think that they also have another "editorial error". On #7 it says "Only female mosquitoes, black flies, and no-see-ums feed on blood. And then #15 says "In SE Asia, there are moths that feed on blood and eye fluids from livestock and occasionally humans." Seems a bit confusing to me but then I don't know what a "no-see-um" is.
07-19-03, 01:49 PM coldfuse The Bohart Museum appears to have a bug (sorry Big Grin).
07-19-03, 04:36 PM Kelleygirl I just came across another website that agrees with the cricket=one mile theory.
Don't know if you consider this a reliable source, but then how do you make that judgement call? ---should start a new thread re that.
07-19-03, 10:31 PM coldfuse Interesting...
The exact wording:
"A cricket an inch long has a chirp that is audible for nearly a mile"
appears on many sites. It is likely a repeated "fact." Discovering its real source might prove interesting.
07-20-03, 12:19 AM DorianGreyed Fuse, that is similar to what I found about the speed of the dragonfly. I saw exactly the same phrasing only when giving the 90+mph speed. About 8-10 sources gave that speed out of well over 100 checked. ALL other sources gave different wording, and speeds in the 30 mph range, with a few exceptions saying from 45-60 mph. I wrote the "Keeper of the Flame" of Tillyard's papers in Autstalia, and he admitted to me that Tillyard's methodology was very suspect, saying "Tillyard claimed 60mph on very weak evidence." I had already found out that he used a hand held stopwatch and observed the insect going downhill, estimating the stopping and starting points. When you allow for a few feet off here, there, and then for the distance to the actual line of flight, the triangulation will show an variance of almost 1/2 X the "Official Figure." His speed of 98mph is the same as a very very good fastball in the majors; perhaps one such as yourself could figure out the force of impact of an object the insect's weight would have hitting a human at that speed. Frankly, I think the insect would have to have a breast like a ButterBall turky to overcome the wind resistance, which would then make the insect too heavy to fly on those tiny wings. The mini controversy over this show why I am such a stickler about references. Even ones seeming as good as the University of California is wrong on some things. There are too many so-called 'facts' that are accepted because of a repeating error. In a Trivia contest I was in tonight, my team was asked about the first TV couple to share a bed. We knew they would not have the right answer, so we were faced with deciding which wrong answer they would have. We guessed the Bradys. They said the Munsters. Since I didn't have the copy of the newspaper story about it with me, and the Trivia Master had a Trivia book, I had no proof that he was wrong. ( I sent them to AnswerPool, telling them that the Trivia forum there had a guy who was a pain in the rear about accuracy and sources.) Now about the first President of the United States...
07-21-03, 06:39 PM DorianGreyed I wrote the following to Sheryl Soucy-Lubell, Ph.D. Education and Outreach Coordinator Bohart Entomology Museum University of California
What are your sources for # 35 and # 39? I am aware of Tillyard's work on Dragonflies. But do you think that the speed he reported is actually correct. He observed a dragonfly traveling downhill, and timed it with a stopwatch. Since most other sources give a top speed of around 35 mph, isn't it likely that there was an error in his methodology? Thanks for your time in this.
She replied (emphasis mine):
Thank you for your interest in our web site. Thanks to your inquiry, I updated our "Random Insect Facts". For many of the facts I used information on the University of Florida's Book of Insect Records, which is compiled by graduate students at UF and updated annually. For others, I reworded the language to make it less misleading.
Please let us know if you find any other inconsistencies on our web site , or if you have suggestions for topics that you would like to see covered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Note: #35 was about the fastest flying insect and its speed #39 was about the distance a cricket may be heard.
I just checked the site; the changes are in place.
07-22-03, 12:38 PM Georgia85 Dorian...since you are such a stickler for references I am surprised you never commented on the references I gave you for the Charlotte's Web post. I guess I musta satisfied your quest for knowledge!
07-22-03, 01:09 PM DorianGreyed Georgia, you said that you were reading off the record. Assuming that you weren't lying (and I assumed that), how can I question information gleaned from that? (None the less, I did check other sources. I found nothing to prove nor disprove your statements.)
07-22-03, 01:59 PM Georgia85 But DG...I ALSO posted links to various sources! Big Grin
Ya mean you don't have that record in your collection? I do! Razz
07-22-03, 02:23 PM DorianGreyed I checked the links you provided. Again, nothing to prove or disprove what you said. One seems to say that the Bradys did the song in the movie, but really doesn't. If someone had the soundtrack, maybe that would help; but even then, the soundtrack listing on imdb.com lists character names, not performer names. So, in the absence of anu other proof, I accepted what you said. And, no, I do not have that record. It is on my list, though. I wil purchase it right after I get "Slim Whitman, the Complete Collection."
07-22-03, 02:40 PM DorianGreyed Another email from Sheryl Soucy-Lubell, at the University of California, addresses Kelley's Post about the seeming discrepancy between #7 and #15:
#7 is referring to the fact that for those particular species that feed on blood, it is only the female that does so. In other words, if you get a mosquito bite, it was a female mosquito that was the culprit. There are plenty of other insects that also feed on blood, but both the males and females do so (like fleas and those gory moths from SE Asia for example). I guess I should reword that "insect fact" to eliminate the confusion. To answer the next question, a no-see-um is a fly (Leptoconops torrens) that feeds on blood (obviously). When a female bites, she injects saliva into the skin that causes blood to pool just under the skin surface. The bite is generally painless, but usually results in a small flat red spot that within 12 hours becomes excruciatingly itchy. There are many members of this genus that behave similarly, so the name no-see-um might refer to different species in different parts of the country. Here is a link to our fact sheet on no-see-ums:: http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/bohart.asp?s=insects&f=noseeum
Thanks for this fun discussion! Sheryl Soucy-Lubell
I want to thank Ms Soucy-Lubell for her time in what must be a Trivial matter to her, and I again ask her to join us in AnswerPool. You really never do know what you may learn here.
07-26-03, 08:49 AM coldfuse I am crestfallen. For years I have thought that Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first TV couple to share a bed!
07-27-03, 05:58 PM Georgia85 Confused
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