I was watching "Clint's Reptiles" and getting annoyed by his pessimism about the possibility of giant ants. But, he made and off-hand comment that struck me: Winged insects generally do not molt once they have their wings.
In insect development there are two main models: metamorphose or just molting and generally getting bigger without a dramatic transformation.
Molting once you have wings is a problem.
Don't know why I never put that together myself.
"The Case for Giant Ants: Why ants could probably become huge if just given the chance and why we should be happy about this."
This talk will cover:
* The versatility of exoskeletons and why they can be large.
* The breathing problem and ways around it.
* How Giant Ants could help people.
* What is "giant" for an ant? 10cm ants might still be "small" but really they are also "huge"
* Psychological barriers: how anti-ant sentiment inhibits our imagination.
Welcome to my TED talk etc. etc.
