Pill Bug Research Paper

The purpose of our experiment is to test animal behavior and reactions to a change in environment. Our guiding question is, “Why do living organisms respond to environmental factors?” This is basically a question that is asking why living things will react a certain way to environmental changes. The task to answer this question is to experiment with changing environmental factors with pill bugs.

During the last decade, redbanded stink bug has emerged as a major stink bug pest species in Louisiana. The economic threat from redbanded stink bug is also rapidly increasing in the Mid-South and Southeastern region of the United States as it continues to expand its geographical range. Since redbanded stink bug is relatively new species in the existing sting bug complex, there is a lack of information about this pest compared to other stink bugs. One of the gaps in our present understanding is its potential spring hosts where its population can build up before migrating to soybean. Field observations have revealed that red banded stink bugs were present in high numbers on leguminous host like medic, clovers and vetch along rights-of-way, ditches

The purpose of this experiment was to measure the metabolic rate of pill bugs and crickets. I indirectly measured the metabolic rate of each organism by calculating their respiration rates. In crickets, gas exchange is accomplished via a tracheal system [Contreras, Bradley, 2010]. Pill bugs have pleopods, gill-like respiratory organs [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. My hypothesis was that the crickets will have a faster respiration rate than the pill bugs. I used a respirometer to measure the oxygen consumption of pill bugs and crickets. After plotting the data, I used the slope to obtain the respiration rate. The respiration rate per gram of organism for the pill bugs was 0.0025 mL/min./g. The respiration rate per gram of organism

The hypothesis that was tested was pill bugs are use to the cooler temperature of the room and natural soil would travel a greater distance once they were in a hotter environment. The hypothesis is rejected on the basis that the p-value of .760 is greater than .05. Furthermore, figure 3 supports this rejection, since the averages are very close to each other and their error bars completely overlap. This rejection means that once the pill bugs where in the hotter environment there was not difference in their behavior compared to the cooler room temperature environment; they did not travel longer distances. However looking at bugs D, F G and H in figure 2, there is a difference in distance traveled that appears to be greater than

This result was consistent with the other groups who tested out this question. They also got that the pill bugs preferred a dark environment. Furthermore, the data supports many studies that state that pill bugs prefer a dark and moist environment because that best replicates their natural habitat and provides for their needs. For example, one website claims that pill bugs will prefer the darkness and encourages the reader to test it. Another does multiple experiments on the pills bugs and in their experiment the pill bugs prefer the dark environment. After learning that pill bugs do not prefer light areas, I would want to test if there are other colored lights that attract them instead. An experiment can be done by keeping one chamber dark and using different colored lights such as red, green, or blue on the other side to see if it attracts any of the pill

1The isopods will gather in the wetter environment instead of the dry environment. 2The isopods will have an affinity to a more basic region than an acidic region. 3The isopods will tend to gather in the environment with a greater amount of light, than an environment with no light. 4The isopods will take a liking to a warmer temperature environment than a cooler temperature environment.By looking at the data you can see that there is a preference among isopods to favor an environment that is cold, wet, basic, and dark. We included the observed data as well as the expected data. Our expected data show what the information would look like if it came from a null universe. To come from a null universe means that the data will have no difference,

Pillbugs and sowbugs are terrestrial isopods that belong to the order Isopoda and the arthropod class crustacean. According to the Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, the terrestrial isopods have evolved from the marine forms. However despite the fact that they seek moist environments they must also avoid an overly moist environment (Journal of Insect Science, 2008). The two different species resemble one another phenotypically. However, pillbugs are a dark gray and the sow bugs are a light gray with posterior projections. Pillbugs also curl into a ball when they feel endangered and the sow bugs do not. The pill bugs used in this experiment were female. Isopods primarily live in dark, damp habitats in order to prevent dehydration (Isopod Behavior Lab). The purpose of this experiment was to determine the type of environment isopods prefer. First we tested to see if the isopods preferred a dry or moist environment and then we tested to see if they preferred the potting soil or the leaf litter environment. For the observation of isopods in response to moisture experiment it was said that each of the two different species would prefer a different environment. For part two, Observation of Isopods in response to other variables, it was hypothesized that the Isopods would prefer the potting soil or the leaf litter environment.

The structural features of the pill bug allows it to have advantages over other organisms. The pillbugs multi-segmented body allows it to roll into a ball if it feels threatened or in danger in order to protect its self. Another advantage of have a multi-segmented body is it allows the pillbug to semi curl to flip its self back over if it is knocked down. The antennae is used to sense the environment around it, even if it is in ball shape form. The advantages of this is the pillbug will know whether or not it is safe to come out of its ball shape form, if it had been threatened earlier. The antennae also allows the pillbugs to send signals to one another, it is a source of communication between them. The color of the pill

This experiment was performed to observe the taxis and kinesis of certain organisms. This is important because the organism’s survival and ability to reproduce depends on how they orient to stimuli using senses. We investigated the behavior of pill bugs to determine if they’ll move towards or away from the vinegar through smell. If I place pill bugs in a behavior tray with different chambers, then they’ll move away from the chambers that contains vinegar. A behavior tray with 5 chambers is used and 2 were control while the other 2 has cotton balls with a few drops of vinegar on it. 5 pill bugs are positioned in the center of the chambers and is covered with a transparent cover to observe the organisms for 10 minutes. Results had shown the class

A two-part study was recently done to show what natural habitat a Pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare, naturally prefers: wet or dry environments along with a light or dark environment. It was hypothesized that a Pill bug would prefer and wet and dark environment based on its natural habitat of soil. For the wet and dry experiment, a coffee filter and soil were placed in each chamber of a double petri dish with one being dampened before being placed in. For the light and dry experiment a light was hung above one chamber of another double-chambered petri dish while the other chamber was covered with aluminum foil, after placing soil in both chambers. An equal number of Pill bugs was placed in each chamber and a study was taken for

Termites produce special chemicals within their bodies called pheromones. Because termites are usually found inside dark areas, pheromones help them communicate in these places. Past studies have suggested that ink inside ballpoint pens contains pheromones, causing termites to follow any trail created by the ink. If a pathway is drawn with an ink pen, then a termite will be attracted to the path and trace it due to the pheromones. To test the behavior of termites in relation with the presence of ink, we outlined two shapes with two different writing utensils and timed how long out of a sixty second time period that the termite spent on each path. The results showed

-Arthropods use pheromones, this includes sowbugs and cockroaches. Chemical signals are picked up by antennae.

In this experiment, we tested three different environments, soil, sand, and a leafy mixture to see which one a pill bug would prefer the most. Originally, we believed that the pill bug would find the leafy substance to be most favorable. Five pill bugs and then a single pill bug was placed in the center so that it could select one of the substrates. The data collected at the end of the experiment opposed our original hypothesis as we discovered that the most favored environment was the soil. This finding could correlate with the dark color of the soil closely matching the color of the pill bug or the moisture in the soil.

This experiment was constructed to determine which type of writing utensil the termites were most attracted to and why. The experiment was performed by placing two separate circles (one red papermate and one lead pencil) on a piece of paper to see what line is favored by the termite. The termite was placed on the lead pencil path first, and then on the red papermate pen path to count how many seconds the termite remained on or followed the pathway. The termite stayed on the red papermate line for a much more significant time than on the lead pencil line. “The presence of insect pheromones that chemically control the behavior of highly specialized social insect

Many people think that Ladybugs are bugs but they are actually beetles. Ladybugs commonly yellow, red, or orange with black spots on their body. There are about 4,300 kinds of ladybugs in the world. The ladybug is found all over the world and there is said to be more than 450 species in North America. The name “Ladybug” comes from Britain`where they became known as “Our Lady’s bird” or also “The Lady beetle”. The average lifespan for the ladybug in the wild is two to three years. Their spots and colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Their colors tend to fade as they get older. A threatened ladybug might play dead or crete disgusting fluid that will protect themself. Their Aphids. Aphids are soft insects that suck the