The Effect of Beetle Mass on Pulling Power of Beetles
I: Introduction
Bess beetles range in size all the way from 21 millimeters to 80 millimeters. The beetles are named after the French word baiser, which means “to kiss”, due to the fact that they often make a smooching sound with their legs. They have a small horn that protrudes from their head, and use their antennae to drive them forward when experiencing new smells. Though the beetles may look quite menacing, they are surprisingly docile. They enjoy feasting on rotten wood, moss, and adult beetle fecal matter after it has been partially digested by bacteria. A scientific experiment was conducted to test these beetle’s pulling power in relation to their mass. The hypothesis stated,
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To conduct the experiment, the beetles were massed, then attached to a petri dish with a 30 centimeter piece of dental floss. The beetle’s mass was the independent variable. Afterwards, the floss was tied to the beetle’s midsection with a slip knot. Then, the beetle was placed on a piece of fabric with the petri dish attached to it. As soon as the beetle was able to move with one paperclip inside the petri dish, more were added, one by one, until it could not move any further. After the beetle could not pull any more, the paperclips were massed and the results were recorded. The dependent variable was the mass that the beetles could pull. No control group was included in this experiment.
III: Results After conducting the experiments, the hypothesis was found to be incorrect. The data’s common trend was; as the beetle’s mass increased, the amount of weight it could pull decreased. One of the beetles tested had a mass of 1.6 grams and was able to pull only a mass of 18.6 grams. The second beetle had a mass of 1.8 grams and was able to pull 37.3 grams.
IV: Discussion and
Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) were the ectotherms used to compare standard metabolic rates and mass specific metabolic rates between organisms. To calculate metabolic rates for these individuals a system comprised of many parts was needed. A gas pump was needed to deliver airflow into the system. This gas pump was connected to a flow meter that could detect the flow rate of the gas passing through. The air would then flow into a Ascarite Column that would scrub out the CO2 from the system before the animal chamber was reached so that no CO2 that was not emitted by the animal would be collected. Then the Madagascar hissing cockroach would be in the animal chamber connected to the Ascarite Column and it would
The independent variable was moisture. The dependent variable was the bug’s behavior on which soil the sowbug spent the most time in. The controlled variables were temperature, type of soil, and light intensity.
..., Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, Available from Journal of Insect Physiology. (46 (2000) 655–661)Retrieved from http://www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/publications/documents/IrwinLee00.pdf
5. You will be using this tutorial to help you find references for the experiment and laboratory report you will be working on during lab on pill/sow bugs (see Lab 2 Activity Two in the lab manual). List 4 specific keywords you will use when searching for literature relevant to your pill bug experiment. You should not list “Boolean” operators as keywords. Note that you often will find relevant and very useful literature with related species (not just pill/sow bugs!) (2
ImageText BoxImageOne of the biggest threats to the environment of Ontario is the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar). The species itself is native to Europe and Asia. How this affects us is by weakening trees across Ontario and North America. The first time the gypsy moth was found in Ontario was 1969. The gypsy moth can be found in southern Canada (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is known to weaken trees and the caterpillar form live in trees and during most outbreaks its caterpillar feces would fall from the trees to the ground or even on top of humans. The average Gypsy Caterpillar can grow 5-6 centimeters long. With five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of bright red dots on their back. The female moth are white and can fly on the other hand, the male moth are brown and can also fly. The female have a 5cm wing span but male have a 2.5cm wing span. The gypsy moth usually lives in open forests and other forests and take up at least 20% of the space. The Gypsy moth are about 4cm long, tan coloured and can be located on tree trunks, furniture, and buildings. (OFAH Invading Species Awareness Program, 2012)
The boll weevil’s primary food source are cotton plants, a crop that covered the southern plantations at the time. In the spring, when they emerge from hibernation, they puncture the cotton buds and lay their eggs inside ("What is a Boll Weevil?"). After about four days, the larvae are born. This is where most of the damage occurs. The larvae eat and destroy the cotton fibers("What is a Boll Weevil?"). The plant is plagued by these insects; they eat them until the cotton plant’s eventual death. The boll weevil season allows for man...
As useful as their tongue is for collecting nectar it is useless in capturing insects hidden inside flowers, even though insects do provide most of the protein...
In this inquiry the relationship between force and mass was studied. This inquiry presents a question: when mass is increased is the force required to move it at a constant velocity increased, and how large will the increase be? It is obvious that more massive objects takes more force to move but the increase will be either linear or exponential. To hypothesize this point drawing from empirical data is necessary. When pulling an object on the ground it is discovered that to drag a four-kilogram object is not four times harder than dragging a two-kilogram object. I hypothesize that increasing the mass will increase the force needed to move the mass at a constant rate, these increases will have a liner relationship.
The bombardier beetle is an example of an animal that uses acid as a defence mechanism. What it does is it makes a chemical explosion inside its shell which sprays the predator with hot acid which really hurts the predator. Researchers in the US discovered that the beetle makes a superheated spray known as benzoquinone. It’s made by combining two chemicals in a protective blast chamber located inside the beetle. The reaction that results by the chemicals combining boils the mixture which creates the pressure that’s needed to shoot it at a predator. Beetles pulse the spray and by pulsing the spray the bombardier beetle allows the blast chamber time to cool which prevents it from overheating and hurting itself.
Outline the physical similarities between the (Blaptica dubia) cockroach and the cricket. Explain previous studies on physical stress in the cricket and in different species of cockroaches. Briefly discuss how the metabolic rate between the two species has been found to be very similar.
Callosobruchus maculatus, traditionally a beetle found commonly over all over parts of Europe and Asia, but is most commonly known for its appearance in labrotaory sciences. C. maculatus is most wide;y sued for ex[eriments due to its reproductivity feauture. Although, with this type of beetle, their reproductive physiology differs betwwen aspects. However, if they are exposed significantly they can reach a stress peak which can lead to mortality. According to a study, performed by various scientists, they found out that be if poked enough these organism reached a level so large that is possible for those traits to be passed to their offspring. The research cocluded that after multiple female mating, there was significant genetic variation of
Forensic entomology is the study of insects and arthropods and their relation to a criminal investigation. Forensic entomology can determine the postmortem interval (PMI) or how long since the descendants’ death, whether the body has been moved since expiring, and what injuries may have been sustained (Ryan, 2011). When decomposition begins, insects establish a colony to lay eggs on the remains; these eggs will hatch into larvae that will eat the human organs and tissues. Forensic entomologists can determine the specific insects present in the body and estimate how long a body has been left exposed by examining the stage of development of the fly larvae; however, these findings are not always plausible. The fly larvae look and act different at each stage of development. The time required for stage development is not only affected by environmental influences such as geographical location, climate, and weather conditions, but also by type of insect. The forensic entomologist must consider these conditions when estimating the postmortem interval. Knowledge of insects, their life cycles, and their habits make entomological evidence a priceless tool for an investigation. Forensic entomology has proved its significance in a number of cases; though circumstances such as weather, temperature, and time of year clearly affect the development of insect infestation, and the expert must keep these in the forefront of his/her mind (Innes, 2000).
If you had a choice between a burger and a bowl of crickets, I think I would know which you choose to eat. As disturbing as this sounds, in the near future we may not have that choice. With our annual protein consumption rising, and Europe’s protein sources decreasing, coupled with a growing population, we may have only one alternative… Insects.
One of the first reason why insects are so successful because they possess a tough exoskeleton that is covered with a waxy water repellant layer. The exoskeleton of insects also has helped them survive. An insect's external skeleton, or exoskeleton, is made of semi-rigid plates and tubes. In insects, these plates are made of a plastic like material called chitin along with a tough protein. A waterproof wax covers the plates and prevents the insect's internal tissues from drying out. Insect exoskeletons are highly effective as a body framework, but they have two drawbacks: they cannot grow once they have formed, and like a suit of armor, they become too heavy to move when they reach a certain size. Insects overcome the first problem by periodically molting their exoskeleton and growing a larger one in its place. Insects have not evolved ways to solve the problem of increasing weight, and this is one of the reasons why insects are relatively small. But compared to animals the Exoskeletons d...
Materials used for this experiment includes 8 plastic cups, 8 ziplock bags, and rubbing alcohol. The plastic cups and ziplock bags were numbered from one through 8. The cups were placed in two different habitats; four cups in each habitat. The first habitat was near a canal and the second habitat was under a tree. In the first habitat, a six-inch hole were dug and cup one was