The Sensors of the Black Fire Beetle

Forest fires repel most animals, but they attract black fire beetles. Why? Because newly burned trees are an ideal place for these insects to lay their eggs. Furthermore, fire drives away predators, leaving the beetle free to eat, mate, and lay eggs safely. But how do black fire beetles find forest fires in the first place?

The black fire beetle’s infrared receptors — The beetle’s infrared receptors

Consider:

Next to its middle legs, the fire beetle has sensors called pit organs that can detect infrared radiation from a forest fire. The radiation generates heat in the pit organs and then directs the beetle to head for the flames.

But these beetles have other sensors in their fire-detection tool kit. When their favorite trees burn, the beetles’ antennas detect minute quantities of certain chemicals that fires release into the air. According to some researchers, black fire beetles can use their “smoke detector” antennas to find a single smoldering tree over half a mile (0.8 km) away. As a result of the combination of their abilities, these beetles appear to sense and find forest fires from a distance of more than 30 miles (48.3 km)!

Researchers are looking to the black fire beetle’s pit organs and antennas to improve devices that detect infrared radiation and fire. Traditional high-resolution infrared sensors must be cooled, so the beetle may help scientists to develop better sensors that will function at room temperature. The beetle’s antennas have inspired engineers to develop fire-detection systems that are more sensitive and can distinguish between the by-products of forest fires and other chemical compounds.

Researchers are astounded by the black fire beetle’s unique way of finding a place to lay its eggs. Think about how little we know of insects with incredibly sensitive and complex sensory mechanisms.

The Lantern of the Photuris Firefly

THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!

An Overview of Indonesia

Land Straddling the equator between Australia and continental Asia, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. Most of its more than 17,500 islands feature rugged mountains and dense tropical forests. With more than 100 active volcanoes, it is also the most active volcanic region on earth.

PORTRAITS FROM THE PASTIgnaz Semmelweis

IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS may not be a household name, yet his work has benefited most modern families. Born in Buda (now Budapest), Hungary, he received his medical degree at the University of Vienna in 1844. On taking up his post as assistant to a professor at the First Maternity Clinic of Vienna’s General Hospital in 1846, Semmelweis faced an appalling reality —more than 13 percent of the women giving birth there died from a disease called childbed fever. Various theories as to the cause of this disease had been proposed, yet no one had solved the mystery. All attempts to reduce the mortality rate proved futile. Troubled by the spectacle of numerous mothers suffering a slow, agonizing death, Semmelweis determined to find the cause of the disease and prevent it.

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