Lesson 2 Flashcards
What is abundance and what is a fun fact about ut related to insects?
The number of each individual/specimen.
Insects have the largest biomass of all terrestrial animals
What is diversity and what are two fun facts about it related to insects? (Relating to other living organisms and animals)
The number of different species.
Insects represent more than half of all known living organisms
80% of all animals are insects
What is the only habitat that insects have not colonized?
Ocean (marine environment)
How many describes species of insects are there?
1 million
What are intertidal zones?
Zones closely associated to the water
True or false? Insects cannot tolerate extreme environments.
False
What are the 6 reasons why insects are successful?
Ancient lineage and low rate of extinction
Exoskeleton
Wings
Small size
Complete metamorphosis
High reproductive capacity
What does it mean to be of old lineage?
It means they are the first to colonize an environment
What are the advantages of being of old lineage? (2)
It is easier to take the niches since there is less competition
They are ready to exploit their new environment
What are the advantages of having an exoskeleton? (4)
Protection from physical damage
Discourage predators
Protective barrier between living tissues and the environment
Protects against desiccation
What are two characteristics of the exoskeletons of insects?
Can be very hard and thick
Has a wax layer that keeps humidity
What are the advantages of having a small size? (4)
They need little food
Can hide from predators and environmental conditions
Can find places for food
Can exploit a large number of micro habitat
What are the advantages of having wings? (2)
Finding food, mates and escaping from enemies
Move freely from one habitat to another
What is complete metamorphosis?
When the larvae has a different body form and requires a different habitat and food.
What is incomplete metamorphosis?
When the larvae looms like adults but just smaller. They require the same food.
True or false? Most insects orders have complete metamorphosis.
True
What is an advantage of complete metamorphosis?
The adult and larvae don’t compete with each other
What are the advantages of having a high reproductive capacity? (3)
Populafion builds up faster
Faster rate of mutation
Higher rate if survival
What does it mean for insects to have a high reproductive capacity?
They have short generation time and lay eggs in large numbers
What are the beneficial aspects of insects?
Pollination
Food source
Nutrient cycling
Soil improvement
Xontrol of other organisms
Medicine and genetics
Biochemical indicators
Commercial producrts
Aesthetic and cultural use
How does pollination work?
The insect visits the flower, the grains attach to its body, they visit another plant, the pollen attach to its stigma and it makes a seed
How much of our diet is pollinated by insects?
30%
Why are bees more important as pollinators than other insects?
They specifically look for pollen since they eat it. They cover their body in pollen to capture it. They have pollen baskets which is a body part that collects pollen.
What is entomophagy?
The study of insects as human food
