| MadSci Network: Zoology |
I hope this helps.....
The bald-face hornet is a wasp that takes live prey. I have observed this wasp capture flies. A common housefly's average body weight is about 10 mg, so each wasp can carry 10 mg.
1 pound = 453,592.37 milligrams. So you need 45,359 wasps to lift one pound. Then, multiplied by 100, we need 4,535,900 wasps.
http://www.vespa-crabro.de/baldfaced-hornet/baldfaced.htm
A book on biomechanics may help; see:
http://books.google.com/books?id=UuuPLIxY1cwC&pg=PA467&lpg=PA467&dq=%22weight+of
+a+fly%22+insect+weights&sourc
e=
bl&ots=dtIHvTbGZS&sig=-QnY82xNprDSbFa8Bvqpdj-
uLbg&hl=en&ei=r8W6SbrPFYmQtQOwvZ00&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA43
1,M1
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Zoology.