a thread to ensure nobody ever has a crush on me ever

honeybees can beat their wings over 230 times a second due to their muscles; the thorax can squeeze in both up-down and left-right directions, alternating similarly to how we breathe. another note is that bees actually have 4 wings, 2 on each side of their body. theyre

held together by comb-like hamuli. these hamuli work to hold the 2 sets of wings together and create a larger surface for greater lift strength. the order hymenoptera notably also has these hamuli on their wings. hymenoptera consists of sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. also

commonly seen in hymenoptera is the presence of an ovipositor: a tube like organ used to insert eggs into otherwise inaccessible hosts or places. this ovipositor is also sometimes modified into a stinger, particularly with wasps.

however, sometimes ovipositor is used to burrow into the earth (like with grasshoppers) or piercing wood of twigs (like with cicadas).

grasshoppers are particularly interesting in other ways as well; they actually have 5 eyes. a set of compound eyes on either side of the head, and three ocelli on the forehead. these ocelli can detect light intensity. ocelli, also known as "simple eyes" are also found in

diptera, odonata, orthoptera, mantodea, and even the hymenoptera order i discussed earlier.

the simple eyes found in most flying insects usually come in triplets, and are referred to as dorsal ocelli. they typically only consist of a cornea and photoreceptors. the cornea may be curved, like in bees/locusts/dragonflies, or flat like in cockroaches.

however, what sets dorsal ocelli as unusual (and has particular consistence between insects) are two primary factors:
1. a weak refractive lens, making it impossible to form an image on the photoreceptor layer
2. a large convergence ratio from first-order to second-order neurons.

something primarily found in orthoptera that i find interesting is the presence of fine hairs all over the body, which are used as mechanoreceptors. these hairs are used to touch and sense wind patterns.