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Summer is a great time to observe one of the fiercest aerial predators out there. Creatures capable of hovering, pulling turns at 6 Gs before effortlessly dropping into a downward spiral: dragonflies. Dragonfly-lover and zoology curator Jessica Ware explains some new research on their flying style.
Then, we head over to Lake Malawi in East Africa to explore the feats of another aquatic insect. Every morning, to avoid getting eaten by fish, lake fly larvae sink 600 feet deep, where there’s little oxygen and very high pressure, especially for an insect that’s basically a squishy body with an air sac. Zoologist Phillip Matthews went to the lake to figure out how these submarine-like insects make this daily commute without imploding. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to explain why they’re so rare in the insect world.
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Segment Guests
Jessica Ware
Dr. Jessica Ware is the curator and chair of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Philip Matthews
Dr. Philip Matthews is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Segment Transcript
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Meet the Producers and Host
About Dee Peterschmidt
Dee Peterschmidt is Science Friday’s audio production manager, hosted the podcast Universe of Art, and composes music for Science Friday’s podcasts. Their D&D character is a clumsy bard named Chip Chap Chopman.
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.