BUGGY BONANZA

INSECTS ADAPTIVE AND DEFENSE MECHANISM

What Are Bugs (In

Insect is a very small animal with a hard covering over its body. Most kinds of insects have a body that is divided into three parts. Most insects also have three

pairs of legs and one or two pairs of wings. Insects are arthropods.

Insects DefenInsects use chemicals to protect themselves. Insects used wage chemical warfare against their enemies.They create their own toxic or distasteful compounds.

How do insects defend themselve Chemical Defenses

*Repellency:a foul smell or a bad taste is often enough to discourage a potential predator.

*Irritant: compounds often induce cleaning behavior by a predator, giving the prey time to escape.

*Adhesion -- sticky compounds that harden like glue to incapacitate an attacker

*Cause pain or discomfort:Many ants, bees, and wasps (the aculeate Hymenoptera) deliver venom to their enemies by means of a stinger . The venom is a mixture of acids that induces intense pain but may also trigger an allergic reaction in the victim.

Defense Mechanism Protective Coloration

*Crypsis:Insects that blend in with their surroundings often manage to escape detection by predators and parasites.

*Mimesis:Some insects "hide in plain sight" by resembling other objects in the environment.

*Warning Colors:Insects that have an active means of defense (like a sting or a repellent spray) frequently display bright colors or contrasting patterns that tend to attract attention

DEFEnse mechan *Mimicry: There are three main kinds of mimicry in insects. Batesian mimicry is when a non-harmful insect looks like a harmful one. Predators are less likely to eat something that looks like something is harmful, even if it is perfectly safe. Müllerian mimicry is when two or more harmful insects look like each other.

AdapTATion DefinA change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.The action or process of adapting or being adapted.

` AdapTATIonInsects can have adapted feet and legs. There are many different types of insect such as jumping, digging, running, and swimming. These adaptations help them survive in the environment that they live in. Insects can also have adapted mouthparts.

Examples of Insects D MechanismAnts: Ants attack and defend themselves by biting and, in many species, by stinging, often injecting or spraying chemicals, such as formic acid.

Bees: Bees can quickly mobilize a large group of stinging guards that will fly after and attack potential predators.Honeybees sting when they feel threatened.

Spiders: They have sharp teeth that are able to quickly penetrate into the predators that are bothering them. That venom will immediately kick in and make them ill, immobile, or kill them.

EXaMples of insects defense mecGrasshoppers:One of the most distasteful grasshopper facts is that grasshoppers are known to spit brown juice as a means of defense.

Ladybugs:Ladybugs protect themselves from predators by releasing a toxic fluid, hemolymph. The fluid is yellowish in color and is toxic in nature, and it is released from the joints of the legs

Butterflies:They blend in with their environment. Bright colors let predators know that the butterfly is poisonous or has a fowl taste.

Survival Each insect mouthpart are adapted to help them eat their favorite foods for survival. It makes them diverse and if all insects had the same mouth piece then they would eat the same foods.

MouthpartsMajor insect groups that have chewing mouthparts include the cockroaches and grasshoppers, most wasps, beetles, termites and caterpillars. Insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts include some flies (think mosquitoes), fleas, true bugs and their relatives.

The biting-chewing is the mouth you see on grasshoppers, beetles, and dragonflies. The mandibles in these insects are sharp, rigid, and strong, and they are used to capture, tear, and chew food.

Bees and wasps have developed chewing-lapping type mouths. These insects can drink

nectar and other liquid food while biting and chewing.

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Mouthpart Flies have sponging mouthparts. They spit on the food to dissolve it and then eat it.

Sucking mouthparts are similar to chewing mouthparts. They suck the juices out of plants or blood such as leafhoppers.

Lapping mouthparts allow insects to drink to drink the sweet nectar from plants such as butterflies.

QuestionsDo humans have defense mechanism?

If Yes, Name two human defense mechanism

Can you name one new insects and their defense mechanism?

If yes, Give an example