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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If the beetles mass is greater, it will be able to pull a greater mass. A petri dish was attached to a piece of dental floss, then tied to the beetle. Each time the beetle was able to pull the dish, another paper clip was added. II: Materials and Methods The materials that were used to conduct this experiment included the bess beetles, a petri dish, a cloth, dental floss, scotch tape, and paperclips.
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
Conclusion This experiment aimed to test the pulling power of bess beetles and compare the results with the original hypothesis. The results from the experiments do not support what was originally thought based on our background information. The accuracy of the experiment could have been improved by testing more beetles and testing beetles of different sizes, instead of just repeating when they may have been tired. Both black and brown beetles were used in this experiment, which could have impacted our results if they were different species with different strengths or if they were male or female. Also, the second beetle experiment that was conducted did not support the conclusion, as well. All in all, by doing this experiment with the beetles, it was learned that though some beetles may have had a larger mass, that does not necessarily mean that they will be able to pull a greater mass. Resources: insects.about.com/od/beetles/p/Bess-Beetles-Family-Passalidae.htm https://www.wardsci.com/www.wardsci.com/images/Bess_Beetles.pdf
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..., 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
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