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House Crickets Lab Report

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Introduction Insects are aerobic organism that utilizes cellular respiration to obtain energy. One key component of this process is oxygen, which is required to react with organix molecules to produce CO2, water and energy. In insects, their respiratory system consists of a complex branched network of tubes called the tracheal system. Insects take in oxygen in exchange for CO2 using the openings in the tracheal system located on their exoskeleton (www.amentsoc.org). These openings, which are called spiracles, pass from the main trunks throughout the body, located on each segment of the body. Gases move by diffusion within the respiratory system. When the insect is less active, tracheoles are filled with fluid. Gas meets the fluid, allowing …show more content…

Their cycle last around 2 to 3 months, and they deposit their eggs around damp areas mostly in the eastern part of the United States (entnemdept.ufl.edu). House crickets go through incomplete metamorphosis, which means juveniles resemble adults except being smaller and wingless (entnemdept.ufl.edu). In term of their circulatory system, house crickets are cold-blooded creatures, which means they rely on external sources of heat such as the sun (Ramlow 2000). They are very economical creatures when it comes with energy conservation, because they do not waste energy to keep their bodies warm (Ramlow …show more content…

Its life cycle begins with the female beetle lays whitish eggs, about a tenth of an inch long, in fertile environments (sciencing.com). When the eggs hatch, superworms in its larva form can survive up to 6 months to a year (sciencing.com). Then the worm forms a cocoon from silk that hardens into a kind of protective shell (sciencing.com). Finally, the worms turn into adult darkling beetles, which can live from 3 to 15 years (sciencing.com). Superworms are ectotherms, because as temperature increases more CO2 are released as a result of higher rates of respiration. On the other hand, less CO2 is released (undergradsciencejournals.okstate.edu). The third insect used in this experiment is the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa). It has an incomplete metamorphosis life cycle, in which the juvenile looks similar to the adults (entomology.ca.uky.edu). Their life cycle usually last around 2 to 5 years in total (entomology.ca.uky.edu). These cockroaches are cold-blooded creatures, which is the same as crickets and superworms (agweb.okstate.edu). Their metabolism increases when temperature increases, and vice

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