Other Invertebrate Experiments Archive
Bracken, E., O’Neill, M., Roth, P., & Steffenhagen, A. (2007). Isopods: Speed Versus Temperature
Abstract:
This experiment observed the effect of temperature on the speed of isopods. It hoped to examine
whether cold conditions, room temperature conditions, or warm conditions would cause the
isopods to be faster, slower, or have no change at all. Our results suggest that isopods will
become much slower when exposed to cold conditions. We did not have results to suggest that
warm conditions change their speed at all. This was a relatively short study and the isopods were
not all subjected to the same lighting conditions which may have affected the results slightly.
Isopods are very strong creatures that show resilience to many situations, but they do not act the
same in every circumstance.
Schneider, A., Helget, J., Bradley, S., & Rebers, A. (2007). Box Elder Bugs: The Little Invaders
Abstract:
Box elder bugs are a common household pest. For our science experiment, our group wanted to determine which type of solution most repelled box elder bugs. We did this by using four different solutions: water, soapy water, Deep Woods bug repellent and Skintastic bug repellent. We sprayed the four solutions on four pieces of cardboard and placed them in the four corners of a mesh cage. We placed a light in the center of the cage and divided the bottom of the cage into five parts. After putting the box elder bugs into the cage, we monitored their positions for the next ten hours. We observed and recorded their positions within the cage every hour.
Wermerskirchen, H., Unruh, A., Story, J., & Mitchell, J. (2007). Affect of Light Conditions on Asian Beetle Movements
Abstract:
For our experiment, we were testing the effects of dark and light conditions on the movement of Asian Beetles. We daily recorded the movements of sixty Asian Beetles, thirty in the light and thirty in the dark using five categories; standstill, walking, running, flying, and dropping. The purpose of this experiment was to see whether the movements of Asian Beetles are different in the light than they are in the dark. We found that the movements are in fact different, and for all movements except dropping, we can say with a 90-99% confidence level that light does affect the movement of Asian Beetles. During our experiment, we experienced a very high mortality rate with our Asian Beetles, and are aware that this dying and replacing of insects creates a very large uncertainty in our results. However, we have completed this experiment and learned the importance of careful planning and observation, along with planning an experiment step-by-step in a manner so we could later do a similar experiment with our future students.
Woitas, A., Fenske, A., Nelsen, A., & Stewart, F. (2007). Boxelder Bug Bonanza
Abstract:
Before we started our experiment, we realized that our knowledge
on the boxelder bug was not as vast as we thought. We researched the
eating habits, natural habitat, normal behavior, and predators of the
boxelder bug in order to be prepared for the experiment. We
brainstormed different ideas for experiments, finally landing on eating
habits and activity in different temperatures. Our group thought this
would be interesting because we honestly had no idea how the boxelder
bug would react to different environments.