THE AMAZING WORLD OF INSECTS

PARTS OF AN INSECT

Why Insects Are So Successful:

• Size
• Mobility
• Camouflage
• Reproductive Potential
• Structure

Size:

The majority of insects are on the smaller side, which is good because then it is easier to hide from predators.

Mobility:

Some insects have wings, which not only helps them escape from predators but also helps to get them places faster.

Camouflage:

Many insects use camouflage to stay hidden from predators. Not only does this technique help them prevent being caught, but camouflage also helps them catch their prey easily.

Reproductive Potential:

Many insects are able to reproduce quickly or overtime in great amounts. This is a key player in all insect species' goal to survive.

Structure:

Some insects have special mouth parts to help them collect food when necessary. Also, some have antennae, allowing them to sense odors, vibrations and other things in their environment.

MADAGASCAR HISSING COCKROACHES

What I've Learned:
(How cockroach responds to different stimuli)
I learned that when you:
a. Blow on it: cockroach backs up.
b. Move a pencil in front of its eyes: cockroach backs up.
c. Drop water on its back: cockroach does nothing.
d. Drop a piece of banana in front of it: cockroach at first begins eating, then backs up.
e. Drop ammonia in front of it: one of the cockroaches started to like it at first, but then backed up.

Our Investigation:

The question we investigated: Does paint effect the movement/activity of the cockroaches, (male vs. female).

"If-Then" Statement: If the cockroaches aren't moving around before the paint then when we put paint on their feet it won't affect their movements or activity.

Results of Our Investigation:

Without the paint cockroaches moved around canvas normally. But when putting paint on the remake we noticed she stayed in one general area and didn't move around as much as with out paint. Later though, she began to move around more. The make wasn't effected by the paint.

Conclusions and Further Investigations:

We learned that female cockroaches are more effected by paint then the males. We still don't know why the female was affected, but the male wasn't. Our hypothesis was partly true. With the male it was, but with the female we were incorrect. We could continue the investigation by putting the cockroaches on different surfaces with paint.

We learned:

That in our classroom habitat there are many places the cockroaches like to hide, such as the paper towel tubes. They can be found climbing on rocks and logs. They also enjoy eating carrots, which Mrs. Hughes leaves in their cage to rot some. (Because they like food that is rotting.) During the day, they lay around, but at night they are more active because they are nocturnal. They also are capable of climbing up the glass of their cage.

The Cockroaches in the Wild:

With the knowledge we have abouut their activity in our classroom habitat we can infer things about the cockroaches that are in the wild. They probably hide, camouflaged under brown leaves, and eat the rotted food that falls from the trees above. They may also climb as well.