Archytas apicifer

Archytas apicifer is a large tachinid fly that belongs to the family Tachinidae. Their name was authored by the German entomologist Johann Friedrich Jaennicke (1867). Presumably named after the Greek classical philosopher and mathematician Archytas. Adult flies are strong fliers and heavily bristled, they have a creamy yellowish thorax, a white head with brown eyes, and a black abdomen. These flies are helpful parasites that attack the Forest tent caterpillar. These common Tachinid flies can be found at flowers and are very common in the summer. Adults are medium to large flies 10–14 mm long. Like all members of the family they hold their wings slightly open to reveal their round abdomen. These flies can be found at flowers throughout much of North and South America. Archytas apicifer rarely enter houses. They are sometimes mistaken for bumblebees because of their large size and coloring. Eggs are small and white and can be found attached to the undersides of their hosts. Later when the eggs hatch the larvae burrow into their host quickly and begin feeding.

Archytas

Archytas (/ˈɑːrkɪtəs/; Greek: Ἀρχύτας; 428–347 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and strategist. He was a scientist of the Pythagorean school and famous for being the reputed founder of mathematical mechanics, as well as a good friend of Plato.

Life and work

Archytas was born in Tarentum, Magna Graecia and was the son of Mnesagoras or Histiaeus. For a while, he was taught by Philolaus, and was a teacher of mathematics to Eudoxus of Cnidus. Archytas and Eudoxus' student was Menaechmus. As a Pythagorean, Archytas believed that only arithmetic, not geometry, could provide a basis for satisfactory proofs.

Archytas is believed to be the founder of mathematical mechanics. As only described in the writings of Aulus Gellius five centuries after him, he was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial, self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have actually flown some 200 meters. This machine, which its inventor called The pigeon, may have been suspended on a wire or pivot for its flight. Archytas also wrote some lost works, as he was included by Vitruvius in the list of the twelve authors of works of mechanics. Thomas Winter has suggested that the pseudo-Aristotelian Mechanical Problems is an important mechanical work by Archytas, not lost after all, but misattributed.

Archytas (fly)

Archytas is a genus of flies in the family Tachinidae.

Species

Archytas (crater)

Archytas is a lunar impact crater that protrudes into the northern edge of Mare Frigoris. To the northwest is the comparably sized crater Timaeus, and the smaller Protagoras lies in the opposite direction to the southeast. Further to the southwest, beyond the opposite edge of the mare, is the dark-floored crater Plato.

The rim of Archytas is sharp-edged and shows little appearance of erosion due to subsequent impacts. The outer wall is nearly circular, with a slight outward bulge in the southeast. The interior is rough, with a ring of material deposited at the base of the inner wall. Just to the east of the crater midpoint is a pair of central peaks.

The surface surrounding the crater is relatively smooth to the south due to the lava flows that formed the mare. The surface is more rugged to the north and northeast. The satellite crater Archytas B, located to the northwest of Archytas, forms a lava-flooded bay along the edge of the Mare Frigoris.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Archytas.