Study Questions #2

1. Name and describe 4 characteristics of insects.

An insect has an exoskeloton which is made up of chiton. Jointed appendages meaning jointed feet. A segmented body which it has 3: thorax, head, and the abdomen. All insects have only six legs . They all have two antennaes.


2. An insect's thorax is responsible for locomotion. Why is this? What are the different parts of the thorax that make this true and how do they work?

The thorax is responsible for locomotion, because the legs are attached to the thorax. The three parts of the thorax are the prothorax, mesothorax, and the metathorax. The prothorax holds the first pair of legs. The mesothorax holds the second pair of legs. The metathorax holds the third pair of legs.



3. Name and describe 4 different antennae types and an example of an insect with that type. Why do insects have different types of antennae?



Geniculate is a type of antennae that is shaped like an elbow. Example: Ant. Serrate is another type of antennae that is saw like. Ex.Click beetles. A type of antennae that has three segments is aristate. Ex. Blow flies. Another type of antennae is pectinate its shaped almost like a comb. Ex. Glow-worms. Last, but not least plumose its shaped like a feather. Ex. Luna moths. All insects have different kinds of antennaes, because they all do different things. Insects that move very fast need small antennaes, b/c if they had long ones they would get in their way. Insects that are small need long antennaes to sense their surroundings.


4. What is the largest insect? What is the smallest insect? Why are no insects larger than a toaster?

The largest insect in the world is a Goliath Beetle. They measure anywhere from 50 - 110 mm (2 to 4 1/3 inches ). The smallest insect in the world is the fairyfly. They measure 0.139 mm in length. If predation risk was to increase with insect size, it would make an extension of development very risky, favouring smaller final sizes.


5. Name and describe 3 ways that insects are beneficial to people. Name and describe 3 ways that insects are harmful to people.

The dung beetle is helpful to us by keeping the world clean form "poop". Alot of insects spread pollen from one plant to another.That's necessary for plants to produce fruit. Honeybees make honey. And silk worms make silk. One way that insects are harmful to people is lice pass on diseases to us. Another way is many people are allergic to bees.


6. Why are some insects' exoskeletons very rigid and others are so soft? Give an example of an insect with a hard exoskeleton and one with a soft exoskeleton.

Some insects have a hard exoskeleton, because it supports and protects the soft tissues of certain insects. The flexible joints in the exoskeleton of insects such as the ladybug allow great freedom of movement. An exoskeleton does not grow; it must be molted regularly and a new one secreted, at which time the insect is soft and vulnerable to both predators and environmental changes. An insects that has a hard exoskeleton is a beetle. A soft exoskeleton insect is a maggot.

1. Think about what you know about insects. Are insects arthropods? Explain why or why not. Please use specific examples of different arthropod characteristics to support your answer. Yes, Insects are Arthropods. They have a dorsal heart and a ventral nervous system. All arthropods are covered by a hard exoskeleton made of chitin. Sometimes it sheds its skin when it molts.

2. In the class lecture, it was said that Isopods are dorsoventrally compressed. What in the world does that mean? What are other things in nature that can be described as dorsoventrally compressed? Explain. Dorsoventrally compressed means that the body is flattened. Examples: pill bugs or sow bugs.

3. Do you eat anything that Isopods eat? What "foods" do you have in common with Isopods? What "foods" do you not have in common with Isopods? Elaborate please. Yes I eat fish, and sushi. Some other things that isopods eat that I don’t eat are wood.

4. Many female scorpions will carry their young on their back to protect them until the young are more able to protect them selves. What would life be like if human mothers and fathers carried all of their young around on their backs? How is this similar to what humans already do and how is it different? I think life would be completely different. I say that because it wouldn’t be as much trouble to get into, a mother would now where her child is. Most teens would have a job like they do now because after our parents leave their job they would have to " carry" us to our job. I don’t think it would be as many teenage mothers either.

5. Cathedral Termites build quite interesting homes for themselves. Pretend that you lived in a Cathedral Termite mound. What are the advantages and disadvantages of life in the mound? An advantage would be they use grass to keep cool, Some disadvantages would be that they use their "poop" because its like glue, (so imagine walking round an cathedral’s mound) and if it rained it would destroy their mound. Predators might come and destroy their mounds aswell and eat them also.

6. The Huntsman spider lives in Australia. Although it is quite large, the spider’s bite is essentially harmless. If this is true, how does the Huntsman spider cause harm to humans? Would the Huntsman spider affect you in the same way? It causes so much harm to people because, it scares people. Yes, it would affect me in the same way, because I am afraid of spiders and any other insects.