Wasps & Drills/Saws
The horntail wasp is kind of odd with its two giant, whip-like needles on its hindquarters. These are not stingers, but rather, drill bits. They can be as long as the wasp’s entire body and allow them to drill into trees where they deposit their young. Biologists have been fascinated by them for years because they do not work like traditional drills and can drill from any angle without much effort, with so little body weight. Scientists eventually realized that the two needles work their way into the wood, pushing off and then reinforcing the other…sort of like a zipper. University of Bath Astronomers realized drills like this can come in handy in space, due to the lack of gravity. That means a lack of pressure to drill into something. This led to the design of a saw with extra blades that work just like the wasp’s needles.