Respiration Of Insects Research Articles

Utilizing Modern Technology and Sustainable Methods for Storing Rice

Since the dawn of civilization, grain storage has been necessary to ensure food security. Grain storage has a more extended history than one might think and is connected to farming history. India is the next-largest producer of wheat, followed by China. In terms of food security, storage is primarily intended to keep grains for a longer time. It guards against degradation, exposure to the outside environment, and potential microbe and insect attacks. Silo, CAP storage, and Godown storage were used to test the wheat’s temperature and moisture content. To obtain the reading, a temperature sensor and a RH sensor were installed within the silo. Grain storage in underground pits was employed in the past and is still used in some regions today. The holes were excavated and measured at 1 m in diameter and 1 m in depth, with a mixture of 3:3:1 cow dung, straw, and sorghum, amounting to around two quintals each. A total of 10–20 wheat samples kept in the silo were examined for fungus and fungal development. The samples were placed inside a glass bottle filled with sterile water and closely watched to ensure that no fungal source entered the container used for collection. Each colony was isolated and purified separately once it emerged to obtain an isolated single fungus. The pure fungus was positioned and examined using imaging and organized on figurative plates under a microscope. The germination percentage in various storage arrangements was tested for seed viability using wet paper towels. For the following three months of storage, the temperature within the silo increased rapidly from 28°C to 35°C. The grain retained its quality during the first three months, and there was little to no infestation. The lower ambient temperature and measured relative humidity of 95–97% are to blame for this. Before drying, the moisture content in the silo increased from 11 to 17%. During the storage period from April 2006 to November 2006, the moisture content in Godown bag storage increased at the same pace as in the silo. Wheat moisture content rises in direct proportion to its storage time. This is thought to be the result of an increase in insect population brought on by the respiration of insects and wheat, which helped raise moisture content. All of the isolated fungi in the silo were discovered to produce a significant number of spores and conidia on their surfaces. Aspergillus is a harmful toxin-producing fungus well-known for damaging various seeds, grains, and nuts. It is also famous for its destructive properties.

STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF O2 AND CO2 GASES AT DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PULSE BEETLE CALLASOBRUCHUS ANALIS (FABRICIUS) (COLEOPTERA: BRUCHIDAE) IN CHICKPEA

ABSTRACT Studies on the management of pulse bruchid, Callasobruchus analis (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) under modified atmospheric condition was undertaken at the College of Agriculture, Raichur, Karnataka during 2010-11. Change in gas concentration was measured and there was gradual depletion of O2 and increase of CO2. This was mainly due to respiration of insects and grains during storage. There was no change in O2 and CO2 gas concentration where there was no O2 hence there was no scope for insects as well as grains for respiration. The CO2 concentrations of 15 and 20 per cent exposed for 45 days gave cent per cent mortality of insects; no adults survived at that concentration. Further, there was no adult emergence thereby egg laying and mass loss (%) were also nil.

Optical parametric oscillator-based photoacoustic detection of CO2 at 4.23 μm allows real-time monitoring of the respiration of small insects

A continuous wave, single frequency and continuously tunable optical parametric oscillator is used in combination with photoacoustic spectroscopy to detect trace emissions of CO2 from insects under atmospheric conditions. The optical parametric oscillator (OPO) contains a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal and is tunable over the 3.9 to 4.8 μm infrared wavelength region. With the strong rotational-vibrational absorption band of CO2 at 4.23 μm, it is possible to detect CO2 down to 7 parts per billion volume using 20 mW of the OPO beam. This detection sensitivity was achieved by adding 4% of SF6 gas to the atmospheric gas mixture to overcome the slow vibrational relaxation of the excited CO2 levels. The usefulness of this system is demonstrated by real-time measuring of the fluctuations of the CO2 concentration in the breath of a single ant (Lasius niger) and individual fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).

High-frequency positive pressure ventilation.

The prototype for high frequency ventilation is found in nature — the respiration of hummingbirds and insects is synchronous with the beat of their wings. In 1915 Henderson et al. (1) commented on the rapid, shallow breathing in dogs during heat polypnea: “There may easily be a gaseous exchange sufficient to support life even when tidal volume is considerably less than the dead space”. Briscoe et al. (2) confirmed Henderson’s observations, and demonstrated in a patient with a dead space of 170 ml that tidal volumes as small as 60 ml provided alveolar gas exchange. A similar principle was first applied by Jack Emerson, who called his US patent application in 1959 an “apparatus for vibrating portions of a patient’s airway”.

An integrated technique to study the effects of fumigants on respiration of insects

Physiological responses of insect respiration to gaseous toxicants have been studied with an integrated technique. A more sensitive and modified method to record frequency and amplitude of ventilation has been designed. Techniques have also been devised to record the frequency, degree and/or duration of opening and/or closing of spiracles. A method, with the use of insect Ringer's solution, has also been developed to assess the effects of toxic gases on respiration when dissolved in the body fluid. These techniques have been described with illustrations. The results of toxic effects of acetone, ether and chloroform on the mechanism of respiration in Periplaneta americana (L.) have been given here. These preliminary studies indicate that respiratory activity in these vapours depends on their capacity for penetration through the body integument, in addition to their entry through the spiracles which form the chief sites for the exchange of gases.

THE ACTION OF FUMIGANTS ON INSECTS: II. THE EFFECT OF HYDROGEN CYANIDE ON THE ACTIVITY AND RESPIRATION OF CERTAIN INSECTS

Studies have been made on the mode of entry and the effect of hydrogen cyanide on the respiration of insects and have shown that cyanide caused complete respiratory inhibition in S. granarius but not in the other insects studied. The response of S. granarius to anoxic conditions differed from its reaction to cyanide, and insects paralyzed with cyanide were more resistant to methyl bromide than those which were active. Insects died when the amount of cyanide absorbed, calculated as a molar concentration of their total body water, was about the same as the concentration at which it combines with sugars to form cyanhydrins.

Physiological Conditions of Cold-hardiness in Insects

The results of the present investigation can be summarized as follows:—1. Cold-hardiness in insects depends on the physiological state of the organism; the most resistant are the phases in diapause (prepupae of Croesus septentrionalis, eggs of Lymantria dispar, pupae of Acronyctinae); not so hardy are the caterpillars of Lasiocampa quercus stopped in their development and prepupae of Agrotis segetum; practically non cold-hardy are developing (or growing) insects, viz., the full-grown larvae of Calliphora erythrocephala, the growing caterpillars of Loxostege sticticalis and Agrotis segetum.2. The difference in the cold-hardiness of these three groups depends on the specificity of their cellular respiration. Growing insects show in their cellular respiration the prevalence of oxydases, the activity of which is connected with characteristics of their cellular structures; in cold-hardy insects the cellular respiration is closely connected with the anoxybiotic processes caused by the dehydrases; their activity is not bound up with the structural elements of the cells, but is closely connected with the presence of non-saturated fat-acids (Dixon, 1929; Meldrum, 1934) peculiar to insect fats.3. The respiration of growing or developing insects is entirely and rapidly destroyed by narcotics, cyanide and low temperatures; the effect of these agents is due to the destruction of the cellular structures. The respiration of cold-hardy insects is characterised by its definite thermostable part and is also resistant to narcotics (or cyanide, Bodine, 1934). Destroying the cellular structures does not affect that respiration. Cold-hardiness increases with the increase of the percentage of thermostable respiration.4. Freezing of the protoplasmic water causes the death of an insect only in the absence of thermostable respiration. Many insects in diapause (characterised by a high percentage of thermostable respiration) can be frozen without any lethal effect (Pyrausta nubilalis, Croesus septentrionalis, Lasiocampa quercus). It is clear that the freezing of the free protoplasmic water cannot be considered as an obligatory cause of “ anabiosis.”5. The quantity of fat does not show any direct connection with thermostable respiration and cold-hardiness in insects. It is probable that the important factor is the quality of the fats, namely, the rôle of non-saturated fat-acids. The increase of cold-hardiness in insects after dehydration can be connected with the changes in cellular respiration; the same can be said regarding the general connection of the water content of the protoplasm and cold-hardiness.

The Respiration of Insects Through the Skin

ABSTRACT When blowfly larvae are paralysed by ligaturing behind the ganglion the resultant respiration of the hind parts represents the basal metabolism of the animal. When the hind spiracles are also ligatured off, all respiration takes place by diffusion through the skin and is about one-quarter of the basal value. The R.Q. of the twice-ligatured larvae is 1 · 34. This indicates that part of the metabolic processes are maintained by anaerobic respiration. The O2 tension inside the larvae has been measured and is about 15% inside the normal larvae and 2 · 4% inside the double-ligatured larvae. Therefore a much larger amount of oxygen diffuses through the skin in the double-ligatured than in the normal larvae, and it has been found by calculation for the normal larva to be one-tenth of the basal value. When insects are submerged in water their spiracles are not able to function and all respiration takes place by diffusion through the skin. In the normal blowfly respiration is independent of the O2 tension from 100 % O2 down to about 7 · 5 %, whereas in the double-ligatured larvae it is entirely dependent on the oxygen tension. Experiments with other insects, Chaerocampa elpenor larvae (spiracles blocked with grease), Tenebrio molitor larvae and Culex sp. larvae (submerged in water), gave results similar to those obtained with the blowfly larvae.

Prof. August Krogh

THE election of Prof. A. Krogh to the Royal Society will give much pleasure to his many friends, who have been following with great admiration his remarkable achievements in different branches of physiology. His early work (1904) in collaboration with Bohr and Hasselbach demonstrated for the first time the effect of carbon dioxide on the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen. In 1910 Krogh definitely proved that the absorption of oxygen and the elimination of carbon dioxide in the lungs take place by diffusion only and without the assistance of any secretory activity by the cells. This investigation finally settled the long-standing controversy around this problem. We owe to Krogh a series of important contributions to the study of the respiration of insects and the elaboration of a delicate technique for the accurate analysis of minute bubbles of gas. This technique was applied ultimately to the study of problems in other fields of physiology. Krogh's remarkable work on the capillary circulation, which was soon recognized by the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, is marked by the same insistence on direct proof, combined with a broad biological outlook. The work of Krogh's laboratory to-day is largely concerned with the problems of respiration, especially at high altitudes, problems of circulation, the mechanism regulating the water and salt exchanges in aquatic animals, and the ecology of aquatic organisms in relation to the nitrogen cycle in water.

Determination of the Surface Area of Insects.1

Recent advances in fields of insect physiology and insect toxicology have emphasized the desirability of sound bases for the expression of the physiological and toxicological phenomena discovered. In the higher animals the metabolic rate as determined by the respiratory quotient and the calorific output is commonly expressed with relation to body surface. The respiration of insects has been studied by many workers (Lee, 1929), several of whom have measured the oxygen intake and the carbon dioxide output. McGovran (1931) has dctermined the quantity of air passing through the tracheal system of the grasshopper per gram of body weight. Bodine (1921), in addition, has expressed the carbon dioxide output of certain Orthoptera not only on the basis of body weight but also as a function of the weight to the two-thirds power, the latter being a very rough approximation of the body surface. He found a much better agreement of the data when it was compared to the two-thirds power of the weight rather than to the weight alone, and has stated that the surface law probably holds for insects as well as for higher animals. Many workers in entomology would no doubt express their results with relation to body surface for the purpose of comparison with similar results available for higher animals, if the surface area of insects could be readily obtained.

Function of the Spiracles of Insects

IN carrying out investigations on the respiration of insects, with particular reference to the action of the spiracles and the factors which control their activity, one is struck by the divergence of the results recorded by previous workers. It appears that they have tended to look upon the spiracles only in connexion with gaseous exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide). Respiration, however, also entails a water metabolism.

THE RESPIRATION OF INSECTS

SummaryThe review covers the ground of external and internal respiration in insects, but deals neither with quantitative changes in metabolism, nor with the intimate processes of oxidation in the tissues.The general anatomy and histology of the tracheal system are described. The form of the tracheae and their mode of ending in the tissues is extremely varied in different insects and in different organs. The question whether the tracheal endings contain fluid or air and the problem of what forces keep the larger branches filled with gas are discussed in detail. The embryological development of the tracheal system and the nature of the “spiral thread” are briefly considered.The exchange of gases in the tracheal system is effected primarily by diffusion. This is modified by opening and closure of the spiracles (“ diffusion control ”) and by mechanical ventilation of the larger tracheal branches (“ventilation control ”). The mechanism of tracheal ventilation is discussed at length: including the part played by the air sacs and the question whether there is a directed stream of air through the tracheal system.The respiratory movements are controlled by nerve centres, variously situated in different insects; and these centres may be stimulated either by oxygen want or by carbon dioxide excess.The relative importance of the spiracles and the skin in respiration, especially in the elimination of carbon dioxide, is discussed.Under the respiration of aquatic insects the functions of the “blood gills,”“tracheal gills ” and “ cuticular gills ” are reviewed, and the problems connected with the “ hydrofuge ” structures of aquatic insects and the air stores which they carry are considered. The respiration of parasitic insects presents many parallels with that of aquatic forms.The part played by the blood of insects as a carrier of oxygen is discussed in detail.

Respiration of Insects

Respiration of Insects

Respiration of Insects

Respiration of Insects

Respiration of Insects

These experiments would seem to prove that no special spiracles are used for inhaling and others used for exhaling, but rather that all are alike in this respect, as the abdomen expands air is taken in and as the body contracts the gases are exhaled.

Handbuch der biologischen Arbeitsmethoden

THE first article on the speed and height of the flight of birds is a very brief account of the subject. In the second one, on the respiration of insects (about 80 pages), the function of the spiracles and the movements which ventilate the tracheae are discussed, and the principal methods for investigating the movements are described and illustrated. Due attention is given to the physical and chemical aspects of the problem, e.g. the technique of gas microanalysis. The third article discusses the flight of insects and of birds and the methods which have been employed in the elucidation of the movements and of their mechanics.

Studies on the Respiration of Insects

The following paper aims to present certain phases of investigations on the respiration of insects. In a recent article (see Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., 15, pp. 89-96, 131-140) I called attention to the fixation of oxygen by the blood of some aquatic insects. “In a few rare cases,” it was stated (p. 94), “the carrier is colored. Thus, in some species of Chironomidae, the pigment is hemoglobin, like that of Vertebrates, except that it is found in the plasma, not within the corpuscles. \* * *| The oxygen diffuses through the epidermis just as in the case of vertebrates, and is fixed by the hemoglobin or other carrier (perhaps hemocyanin?) in the blood. Just what this other carrier may be is not definitely ascertained. But by far the larger number of aquatic insects have no visible colored carrier or respiratory pigment. Thus, for example, Trichoptera larvae, the larvae of Simulium, of Culicidae, and of most Chironomidae, have gill pouches, usually placed at the caudal end, but all without any visible indication of a respiratory pigment.”

XXXIV.—On the influence of the nervous system on the respiration of insects

(1864). XXXIV.—On the influence of the nervous system on the respiration of insects. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 14, No. 82, pp. 280-283.

On the respiration of insects

Although a multitude of facts has been collected relating to the physiology of respiration in insects, attention has seldom been directed to the variations exhibited in this function in the different periods of their existence. The author gives an account, in this paper, of the anatomical and physiological peculiarities which he has noticed in va­rious insects, in their three states of larva, pupa, and imago. He traces all the several changes which the tracheæ and spiracles undergo during their transformations; describing particularly the successive development of the air vesicles in connexion with the power of flight. The system of muscles, both of inspiration and of expiration, is mi­nutely detailed, and their various modes of action examined. He next investigates the series of nerves appropriated to the exercise of the respiratory function, and establishes a distinction in the offices of these nerves, corresponding to the sources from which they derive their origin, and presenting remarkable analogies with similar distinc­tions in the nerves of vertebrate animals. The manner in which re­spiration is performed, and the phenomena presented with regard to this function under various circumstances, such as submersion, and confinement in unrespirable or deleterious gases, are next considered. An account is then given of a series of experiments made with a view to determine the quantity of oxygen consumed, and of carbonic acid produced, by the respiration of various kinds of insects in different states, from which the conclusion is drawn that the quantity of air deteriorated is governed by several circumstances not necessarily con­nected with the natural habits of the species. When the insect is in its pupa state, and in complete hybernation, its respiration is at its minimum of energy: and, on the contrary, it is at its maximum when the insect is in the imago state, and in the condition of greatest ac­tivity. In the concluding section of the paper the author institutes an in­quiry into the capabilities which insects possess of supporting life, during longer or shorter periods, when immersed in different media: and gives a tabular view of the results of numerous experiments which he made on this subject. It appears from these observations that the order in which these media possess the power of extinguishing vitality is the following: viz. hydrogen, water, carbonic acid, nitrous acid gas, chlorine, and cyanogen. Some of these agents, however, affect respiration much more rapidly than others, which, though their action is slower, are eventually more fatal to the insect.

XXIV. On the respiration of insects

It has been long proved by many physiologists that insects produce the same changes in the atmosphere during respiration as other animals. Reaumur, Bonnet, Scheele, Huber, Edwards, Audouin, and others, have all shown that the results of the respiration of atmospheric air by insects are the production of carbonic acid gas, and the loss of oxygen; but these results vary in degree in different genera,—in the different states of the same insects, —and at different periods of the year. My object, therefore, in this paper will be to show the relative quantity of air consumed by different tribes of insects in their different states, —the power which particular insects have of supporting existence in different media, -—and the relation which this power and the consumption of air bear to the comparative volume of the structures concerned. The life of an insect has been considered by naturalists to have three distinct periods, the larva, the pupa, and the perfect state; but each of these periods, in so far as the functions of the different structures of the body are concerned, although tending only to the production of the perfect individual, is in itself a distinct condition. Thus the respiration, circulation, temperature, food, and locality of the insect are in general all different in the different states. In the earliest period of the larva state the respiration is much feebler than when the animal has nearly arrived at its full size, and the circulation of its blood is much quicker; but the relative quantity of its food is much greater, in proportion to its bulk, in the latter than at the earlier period, and its power of generating heat increases as it approaches to its adult condition, In the pupa state also there is a change in all these functions. In many genera the insect ceases to eat; its circulation becomes slower than at any other period; its respiration is greatly diminished in frequency and volume; and its power of generating and of maintaining a temperature of body above that of the surrounding medium, which every individual insect constantly preserves when in a state of activity, is now almost suspended. In the perfect, or imago, state there are other changes in these functions. The respiration again increases in frequency and volume; the power of generating and of maintaining heat is very much augmented; the circulation is more rapid than at any other period, while the necessity for a constant supply of food is often less urgent than in the larva state. Hence it is evident that much caution is necessary in drawing conclusions from our observations on the function of respiration in insects in their different states, and that where quantity of air is concerned the relative volume of the organs of respiration must not be forgotten.