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I, BM

299 792 458 m·s^−1 6.67384(80)×10−11 m³·kg^−1·s−2 6.626 069 57(29) × 10^−34 J·s 1.054 571 726(47) × 10^−34 J·s 4π × 10^−7 N·A^−2 = 1.256 637 061... × 10^−6 N·A^−2 8.854 187 817... × 10^−12 F·m−1 376.730 313 461... Ω 8.987 551 787... × 109 N·m²·C^−2 1.602 176 565(35) × 10^−19 C 9.274 009 68(20) × 10^−24 J·T^−1 7.748 091 7346(25) × 10^−5 S 12 906.403 7217(42) Ω 4.835 978 70(11) × 10^14 Hz·V−1 2.067 833 758(46) × 10^−15 Wb 5.050 783 53(11) × 10^−27 J·T^−1 25 812.807 4434(84) Ω 5.291 772 1092(17) × 10^−11 m 2.817 940 3267(27) × 10^−15 m 9.109 382 91(40) × 10^−31 kg 1.166 364(5) × 10^−5 GeV^−2 7.297 352 5698(24) × 10^−3 4.359 744 34(19) × 10^−18 J 1.672 621 777(74) × 10^−27 kg 3.636 947 5520(24) × 10^−4 m² s^−1 10 973 731.568 539(55) m^−1 6.652 458 734(13) × 10^−29 m² 0.2223(21) 1.660 538 921(73) × 10^−27 kg 6.022 141 29(27) × 10^23 mol^−1

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The day I encountered the living dead.

Posted 09-16-2012 at 03:06 PM by Bullet Magnet
I was walking home from work, having mysteriously cycled in that morning without my bike, whereupon I noticed a rather large dragonfly on the side of the road. Huge, thick, green and blue. Anax imperator, the Emperor Dragonfly, largest UK species. I was quite overjoyed to see one, especially so close, though it seemed very odd that it was standing on the floor like that. Resolving to investigate, and leant down and put my finger under its front, mindful of its predatory mandibles. It crawled onto my finger and I lifted it up to examine it more closely.



I was able to diagnose the problem readily and with not a little surprise. It had no head. And yet it was still alive. It adjusted the position of its legs and gripped my finger tightly as it's abdomen pulsated, curled and uncurled. It's wings flickered restlessly.

I don't deny that it instilled in me a certain unease. It had lost its vital front end and hadn't noticed. In retrospect, I would not expect any living being to notice such a gruesome injury without the benefit of a working brain. As I peered into the dry, black wound at the front of the thorax I was startled further when the animal very suddenly took flight. It quickly flipped upside down and crashed into the grass about two feet away. Well, what would you expect? Poor thing couldn't see where it was going.

I picked it up again and finished my examination, it's abdomen coiling about itself vigorously now as though shamed by its aerial performance and indignant at the injustice of its unenviable circumstances. I then began a brief inspection of the surrounding area, which yielded no sign as to the whereabouts of the dragonfly's head. Fearing that this specimen may have been beyond my aid, I put it back down on the grass and completed my journey home. There I began my research.


To understand how an insect can survive losing its head it helps to understand why a person does not. Firstly, the human circulatory system is highly pressurised. Decapitation represents a substantial breach of containment, leading to catastrophic loss of blood pressure. Secondly, the brain is essential for controlling both heart and lungs. Decapitation therefore also causes suffocation and cardiac arrest, though these will be the least of your worries.

In insects, neither of these are true, which means that death by decapitation is not necessarily instantly fatal. The circulatory system, such as there is one, is not pressurised, so there will only be a little leakage that will quickly clot. There are no lungs, gaseous exchange happens across a network of trachea through which air passes by diffusion alone. These trachea are connected to the atmosphere by way of spiracles, of which there are several alone the side of the insect's body. As for the heart, it is a very simple muscular tube connected to the insect's open circulator system (ours is closed) and is controlled by the relevant segment's nerve ganglion.

Arthropods are segmented organisms. In insects many of these segments are extremely derived and highly specialised, but they are segments just the same. Each segment contains a ganglion that serves all organs and appendages like a remote pseudo-brain. An insect's actual brain is a fusion of three such ganglions. It is primarily responsible for the animal's behaviour and general coordination.

A headless insect's days are indeed numbered, and there are numerous ways in which headlessness can hasten the arrival of death.

1: Infection. The loss of the head represents a major injury and leaves a rather large open wound. This breach in the insect's outer defences leaves it especially vulnerable to infection by bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists. As usual.

2: Drying out. Another major function of an insect's dermis is to keep moisture in. The sheer effectiveness of insect moisture-retention is one of many factors that contribute to the superlative success of Classis Insecta. Depending on the climate, headlessness can lead to a rapid loss of water.

3: Predation. An insect's senses are not quite as localised as our own, but the head is still the sole location of sight, and also the brain that directs its actions. While all the reflexes are still live and literally kicking, predator evasion takes a major hit which the loss of the head.

4. Starvation. The head contains the mouth. While the digestive system remains oh-so open after decapitation, insects cannot deliver food into it without the mouth, which is usually quite specialised for the diet. At least a human would be dexterous enough to employ a funnel were hand-eye coordination not such an issue. Neither can an insect easily locate food without its eyes and antennae, or a brain to make use of such sensory input.

Fortunately, if that word is applicable to such a situation, insects are poikilothermic, (the technical and more accurate term for "cold blooded") and thus require substantially less sustenance per gram than we exotherms. So assuming that a headless insect stays hydrated, uneaten and mould-free, it could last a number of weeks before it ignominiously starves to death.

Which, it seems, is the best my dragonfly can hope for. If it were in any condition to hope anything at all.
Posted in Science
Comments 52 Email Blog Entry
Total Comments 52

Comments

Varrok's Avatar
Poor dragonfly. Sucks to be it
Posted 09-16-2012 at 03:15 PM by Varrok

Splat's Avatar
I thought you were going to say it had been taken over by a parasitic brain wasp larva or something. But that was interesting, if a little grody. (You're grody!)
Posted 09-16-2012 at 03:22 PM by Splat

Bullet Magnet's Avatar
Such things exist, but they are hard to find, especially in England.
Posted 09-16-2012 at 04:51 PM by Bullet Magnet

Mac Sirloin's Avatar
The big one is cockroaches. I like to think it's common knowledge that a cockroach can survive without a head for X long, but I also forget this extends to the (generally defined) kingdom of arthropods. They're little biological machines with little independent engines.

Anyway, I probably have no idea what I'm talking about. What I take from this is that a severe fracturing of those (exoskeletal?) segments containing spiracles would be a substantially more serious injury than decapitation, given what you've said here.
Posted 09-16-2012 at 05:57 PM by Mac Sirloin

jumper's Avatar
So, given that the the main reasons for death post removal of head would not be present in a laboratory setting, how long could it live for?
Posted 09-16-2012 at 11:13 PM by jumper

Phylum's Avatar
I approve of the colour of that dragonfly.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 12:01 AM by Phylum

Splat's Avatar
Cf. Mike.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 02:04 AM by Splat
Updated 09-17-2012 at 07:45 AM by Splat

enchilado's Avatar
I don't really have anything to add to this conversation, but I thought I'd point out that it's just "cf.", not "c.f." (it's an abbreviation of the Latin confer).
Posted 09-17-2012 at 04:40 AM by enchilado

Nepsotic's Avatar
You just let it go? You could of taken it home and fed it via a tiny funnel rammed into the open neck wound, you heartless bastard.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 06:41 AM by Nepsotic

Bullet Magnet's Avatar
Do you know what dragonflies eat? I do. I'm not prepared to make those arrangements.

:
So, given that the the main reasons for death post removal of head would not be present in a laboratory setting, how long could it live for?
I don't know precisely. It depends on the species, energy stores and how recent its last meal was. Cockroaches last weeks. Their heads last hours, longer if refrigerated.



I think this one might have lost a bit of the thorax as well.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 08:53 AM by Bullet Magnet

STM's Avatar
Hugely interesting! Chickens are relatively simple enough creatures to survive beheading if enough of their CNS remains intact I believe. The cokcroach thing really interested me because of its reaction to being nudged with the knife. Isn't that instinct? If so wouldn't that be a function carried out by the brain?
Posted 09-17-2012 at 09:06 AM by STM

Bullet Magnet's Avatar
Reflex. In vertebrates reflexes are coordinated by the brain stem, in arthropods it is the relevant segment's nerve ganglion.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 09:59 AM by Bullet Magnet

STM's Avatar
Cor. Absolutely fascinating!
Posted 09-17-2012 at 11:07 AM by STM

Nepsotic's Avatar
I find stuff like this really interesting. It's amazing to see how different some species' are from human life.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 11:25 AM by Nepsotic

Ridg3's Avatar
I learned today that beheading insects won't guarantee me a kill, I may have to resort to the barbarian method of stomping.
Posted 09-17-2012 at 11:05 PM by Ridg3

Nepsotic's Avatar
I wonder what would happen if you put someone in a giant microwave.
Posted 09-18-2012 at 06:53 AM by Nepsotic

STM's Avatar
They would cook from the inside out.
Posted 09-18-2012 at 07:45 AM by STM

Nepsotic's Avatar
Yes, but what would it look like?
Actually, this is making me hungry.
Posted 09-18-2012 at 08:40 AM by Nepsotic

Bullet Magnet's Avatar
Usually I would suggest an experiment. I hesitate in this case.
Posted 09-18-2012 at 08:44 AM by Bullet Magnet

Nepsotic's Avatar
That's what my physics teacher said .

Are there any small rodents that people don't like, but are easy to catch?
Posted 09-18-2012 at 09:16 AM by Nepsotic

STM's Avatar
How easily would you be lured into a big white box?

If you're really sick and twisted, there are probably videos on Youtube. I know that flies explode because a friend did it.
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:01 AM by STM

Wings of Fire's Avatar
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:21 AM by Wings of Fire

Wings of Fire's Avatar
Nate is going to be soooooo mad I beat him to the punch.
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:22 AM by Wings of Fire

Varrok's Avatar
You can put a hamster in a microwave in the Maniac Mansion game - the effect is *slightly* worse than here. In fact, this video above is a direct refference to that

EDIT:

Sorry that it's in German, I know everybody hates them
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:31 AM by Varrok
Updated 09-18-2012 at 11:33 AM by Varrok

Nepsotic's Avatar
I'd rather put a person in a microwave than a hamster, it would be sooooo satisfying.

Pop!
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:38 AM by Nepsotic

Wings of Fire's Avatar
I'd rather put Rarity into a microwave

And masturbate
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:40 AM by Wings of Fire

Nepsotic's Avatar
Hot.
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Get it? Hot!
Posted 09-18-2012 at 11:56 AM by Nepsotic

Varrok's Avatar
No, I don't get it. Is it a joke?
Posted 09-18-2012 at 12:11 PM by Varrok

Nepsotic's Avatar
We were talking about microwaves. Come on, man!
Posted 09-18-2012 at 12:57 PM by Nepsotic

Varrok's Avatar
No, still nothing ._.


...OOOOH I GET IT

You also find WoF masturbating hot xD That's actually funny quite disturbing
Posted 09-18-2012 at 01:25 PM by Varrok

 

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