'Ant-Man' Dreams of Harnessing Six-Legged Soldiers

Credit: Disney | Marvel Entertainment When Paul Rudd's character puts on his superhero suit in the Marvel film "Ant-Man," he gains the ability to shrink to the size of an insect to infiltrate the tightest security systems. Despite his tiny stature, he can punch and throw around full-sized foes with human strength. He even commands ant swarms to do his bidding. The "Ant-Man" suit technology may represent a comic book fantasy, but many real-life military forces have attempted to harness the power of insects throughout human history. Military commanders have historically used insects to directly attack enemy soldiers, destroy crops and other food supplies, and as carriers of deadly infectious diseases, according to Jeff Lockwood, professor of natural sciences & humanities at the University of Wyoming. In his book “Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War,” Lockwood points out many such uses of insects in both ancient and modern warfare. He also touches upon future possibilities for cyborg insects being directly controlled by human operators. In all those centuries of experimenting with insects as weapons, nobody has developed the technology to create a tiny, insect-size soldier with superhuman strength. Still, Lockwood said that "Ant-Man" does build its superhero fantasy upon some small grains of scientific truth. "The cool thing [about Ant-Man] is that there’s a hook that’s kind of correct; small things are stronger relative to size than big things," Lockwood said. "In a sense, I think that’s what makes the character work, because there’s this plausible grain."