Introduction
For this project, we were supposed to look at how different environmental factors affected the growth of mealworms for nine week time period. Groups chose different environmental factors including food source, water source, temperature, and light. Our group chose to look at how well mealworms survived in different food sources, such as chicken feed, rabbit food, and oatmeal. Mealworms survive best in chicken feed, so our goal was to test to other food sources (oatmeal and rabbit food) to determine which food source is equal to or better than chicken feed. This goal was achieved by having three separate cups for each food type to insure reproducibility and validity of our results.
Before becoming a beetle, a mealworm goes through four stages of metamorphosis (“Mealworm Life Cycle,” n.d.), which lasts three to five months (“Darkling Beetle/Mealworm Information,” n.d.). These stages include: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The amount of time spent in each life stage depends on environmental conditions such as food, water, and temperature. During the first stage of life, time is spent inside an egg. The small, white egg is the size of a dust particle and bean-shaped, and the egg usually is covered up by dust and dirt because it is sticky. After one to four weeks, the egg hatches and larva will be seen. At this stage, the organism can be called a mealworm. The larva stage lasts about eight to ten weeks. When the egg hatches, the larva is small in size, but will eventually grow from one to one and half inches long. During this life stage, the mealworm sheds its outer shell to grow and eats. The mealworm will molt one last time, and during that time the mealworm will turn into a pupa. The pupa stage lasts one to three weeks...
... middle of paper ...
...eational fishing. Our hypothesis was rejected because the mass of the mealworms from the oatmeal was more than that from those in rabbit food. A few errors we encountered included missing mealworms and leaving for a week due to spring break. For a few weeks, we noticed that we were missing a mealworm or two from a few of the cups and we did not find their bodies so we could only assume that they either managed to escape or they were eaten by another mealworm or beetle. As for leaving for spring break, we were gone for a week and were not able to add a fresh source of water for each of the cups. That could have been the reason why some of the mealworms died. For our project the mealworms were kept in a dark and somewhat cool cabinet. Overall, mealworms need to be kept in a warm and dry environment for them to grow efficiently (“Raising and Breeding Mealworms,” n.d.).
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.
Much is still not known about the invertebrate worm in their natural niche. The understanding of Saballaria cementarium's diet has not been thoroughly examined in much detail. Qian and Chia (1990) examined the role of detritus, a form of eelgrass, as a food source for developing larvae of the organism. It is not known whether they are food limited. The experiment was conducted to reveal some facts about the feeding habits of the larvae in determining the development and growth of it.
Scorpaenidae are mostly marine fish,very few found in fresh and brackish water. The family have around around 45 different genera and 380 different species. They are mostly found in the India Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Most of them lives in coral, tropical reefs and shallow waters, warmer areas. Not all of the family fish lives in the shallow water, small portion of the Scorpaenidae live deep as around 7,000 feet. Just like most of the coral reef fish are, Scorpaenidae have camouflaged body. Their characteristic reflects their name, they have sharp spine that can sting other organisms. Their spine are covered with venomous mucus just like how some other kind of fish are covered with the venomous mucus. Their body are covered with scales. Generally speaking, the Scorpaenidae family fish have different number of spines over the course of the body. Most known type pf Scorpaenidae are lionfish and scorpionfish. Lionfish have preorbital bone with 3 spines, spines and third below the diagonal; , big mouth, end position, oblique fissure. Mandible, vomer and jaw bone with villiform teeth group. Gill openings are wide, tetrabranchiate membranes without the isthmus, pre-opercular margin with 5 spines. Body are ctenoid scales, round head. On the side, there are about eight to nine dorsal fin, fin spines and rays of an anal fin; five to six pectoral fins, they are large, round, and are branched from the upper fin rays. There are about one to five pelvic, sub thoracic; caudal fin rounded truncate. Reef stonefish are extremely camouflaged, they could look exactly like a rock when hiding for predation. The spines of Scorpaenidae are hard and rough, some of their fin spines have poison, can cause serious pain, swells and fatal wounds. Some of ...
The female moth will lay its eggs underneath leaves of trees such as the sweet gum, hickory, and walnut. The female may lay up to 600 eggs. The eggs have to incubate for up to two weeks. While it is a caterpillar, it is constantly eating tree leaves. The caterpillar eats for about a month before it finally builds a cocoon. The moth emerges from the cocoon
The Cockroach (Blaptica Dubai) was obtained from the laboratory personnel at UNM. The cricket (Acheta domesticus) was purchased from a pet store in Albuquerque called Clark’s Emporium. The cockroach was raised in an opaque plastic box that contained egg shell cartons. The roaches were in a room temperature environment. Every day they were fed dog food, vegetables and provided with adequate amounts of water provided by polysaccharide water crystals. The Cricket was maintained in a glass tank with eggshell cartons at room temperature. They were fed “Total Bites” once a day. Total Bites are gel food that provided them with both nutrients and water.
The life cycle starts as larva or caterpillar. First, the monarch lays the eggs on the milkweed plants. Next, the egg hatch into a caterpillar. The caterpillar then eats the milkweed plants until they are large enough to pupate (Emmel, 1999). Then, the caterpillar attaches a pad of silk to a stem of a milkweed plant so it can hang while it transform into a butterfly. Next, the caterpillar sheds it larval skin to reveal the chrysalis inside (Emmel, 1999). After it shed its skin, the pupa hardens and the chrysalis earns it name by glowing in the sun. As the pupa stage comes to an end, the butterfly can be seen through its pupa shell. The monarch emerges by splitting the pupa along the length of it proboscis (Emmel, 1999). First the legs emerge. Then the fluid fill body pumps its fluid into the veins of the wings while the body shrinks to normal size. Finally, the butterfly hangs from the pupa about two hours while the wings dry (Emmel, 1999).
Fifty black eyed peas were obtained from a controlled laboratory environment within the Cooper Ecology Lab located within the Ball State University campus. The navy beans represented the environment and the black eyed peas represented the organisms in the environment. Twenty-five of the black eyed peas were painted black which represented the non-camouflage prey and the other twenty-five black eyed peas represented the camouflage prey because they blend with the navy
The digestive system otherwise known as the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) is a long tube which runs from the mouth to the anus. It operates to break down the food we eat from large macromolecules such as starch, proteins and fats, which can’t be easily absorbed, into readily absorbable molecules such as glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. Once broken down, these molecules can cross the cells lining the small intestine, enter into the circulatory system and be transported around the body finally being used for energy, growth and repair.
The act of cannibalism is sometimes committed as criminal act, and in some blizzard cases survival, which is considered taboo. Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. (Cannibalism, Wikipedia) Plane crashes; shipwrecks and religious ceremonies are assimilated with these acts against humanity. The act of cannibalism has made headlines across boarders in Japan, Australia, Russia, Pacific Island, Siberia and the United States. Therefore, the main question is: Is cannibalism ever acceptable? The dilemma involve, imagine that one waiter, Daley Smith, 18, single and 5 white collar American businessmen, Brian Daley, 36 married, Jim Carey 24, single, Steve Hugo, 28, single,
There are nearly one million species of insects known. Insects are defined by having six legs and a body divided into three segments: head, thorax, and abdomen. Chitin is an organic material that makes up an insects exoskeleton. There are three life cycles of insects, ametabolous or incomplete and paurometabolous or gradual, and homotabolous or complete metamorphosis. These life cycles are important in the aging of insects for aiding in legal investigations, (Houck and Siegel. Entomology).
"Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus bacteria colonize the intestines of the infective soil-dwelling stage of entomophagous nematodes, Heterorhabditis and Steinernema, respectively. These nematodes infect susceptible insect larvae and release the bacteria into the insect blood. The bacteria kill the insect larvae and convert the cadaver into a food source suitable for nematode growth and development. After several rounds of reproduction the nematodes are recolonized by the bacteria before emerging from the insect cadaver into the soil to search for a new host.
The life cycle of a butterfly is perhaps one of the most beautiful and astounding processes in nature. The four stages a butterfly goes through to become the beautiful flying insects are just as interesting as the vibrant colors and patterns on the wings of the various species of butterflies. The four stages are as follows: the egg, the caterpillar, the pupa, and the emergence of the butterfly. Each stage is vital to the development of the adult butterfly. Perhaps the most interesting piece of the complicated puzzle that is the butterfly life cycle is the process of metamorphosis that happens in stage three. Similar to how a tadpole becomes a frog, a larva (caterpillar) morphs into a beautiful brilliantly colored butterfly.
“We all think we’re too smart to be tricked by packages, lighting, or plates. We might acknowledge that others could be tricked, but not us. That’s what makes mindless eating so dangerous” (Wansink 2). Unhealthy eating and the rise of obesity have become increasingly prevalent problems in the United States over the last few decades, but what often goes unnoticed is an epidemic that very well may be the cause of these issues; mindless eating. According to Weight Watchers, the term ‘mindless eating’ is defined as “eating food without paying adequate attention to what and how much is being eaten,” continuing to mention that this habit can be influenced by our surroundings and portion sizes. With the advancement of technology increasing the number of distractions, the idea that “bigger is better,” and American culture thriving in a life of convenience, snacking has become much more than a quick granola bar. Rather, it has transformed into consuming an entire bag of chips, for example, without even realizing it. Clearly, mindless eating is a significant contributor to health problems such as obesity, but what does this practice truly say about the culture in which we live? This unconscious habit may be impacting society to larger extent than many realize; hurting productivity, driving up health care costs, prolonging and even encouraging a fast paced lifestyle full of haphazard decision making.
turn, it demands more oxygen. Since eggs cannot move, they don’t have a developed respiratory
Through various observations and assumptions, there have been conversations on whether or not overconsumption of food is an addiction. However, many have come to the conclusion that food is an addiction if it is overconsume excessively than it is necessary for an individual’s diet. Nevertheless, food addiction can create health issues that can affect an individual’s body. Even though, many individual may have such knowledge of overconsumption of food; however, many may choose to ignore the consequences that comes with food addiction. Becoming a food addict is harmful and dangerous to an individual’s health.