Social and domesticated insects
Most insects lead a solitary lifestyle. However, there is alsosocial insects . These includetermites, bumblebees, wasps, bees, ants . The community of these insects is one large extended family. Social insects share food with each other, jointly care for larvae, and guard the nest.
Bees and ants are social insects
Bees.Social insects includehoney bee . A large family of bees numbers up to 100 thousand individuals that live in the hive. In a hive, most insects areworkers bees. These are infertile females in which a modified ovipositor servessting . They clean the hive, collect nectar, care for the queen and larvae, and protect the hive from enemies. They live for one warm season (less than a year). In a bee family, the main bee isuterus which lays eggs - up to 2000 per day. The queen bee is larger than the worker bees. She lives for about five years. In the spring, in May - June, a new queen and several dozen males appear from the pupae in the bee colony, which are calleddrones: They do not take any part in the work, and their main task is fertilization of the uterus. In the fall, worker bees drive the remaining drones out of the hive and they die.
All care for the hive lies with the worker bees: growing up, each worker bee changes several “professions”. She builds honeycombs, cleans the cells, feeds the larvae, takes food from arriving bees and distributes it in the hive, ventilates the hive, guards it and, finally, begins to fly out of the hive for nectar. Bees communicate with each other in the same way as ants - through touch and secreted substances.
However, only bees have a “dance language”. With the help of special body movements and movements, one bee can tell others where nectar-rich flowering plants are located. A scout bee "dances" in the hive on the honeycomb.
On the underside of the abdomen worker bee there are special glands that secretewax . Bees, thanks to complex instincts, build from ithoneycomb . On the hind legs of bees there are areas surrounded by long chitinous hairs - baskets. Bees crawl on flowers, and pollen falls on the hairs of the insect's body. Then the bee cleans the pollen into the basket using special brushes on its legs. Soon a lump of pollen forms there - pollen, which the bee transfers to the hive.Perga - pollen soaked in honey serves as a reserve of protein food for the bee colony.
Worker bees have a peculiar expansion of the esophagus -honey goiter . From the nectar collected from flowers, which has passed through the honey sac, the main food supply of the bee colony is formed -honey . The cells are filled with honey and the bees cover them with a thin wax layer. In a year you can get up to 100 kg of honey from one bee colony.
Although people have been raising bees for a long time, collapsible frame hives were invented relatively recently - in 1814 by the Ukrainian beekeeper P. I. Prokopovich. Before this, in order to extract honey from a bee’s nest, which, as a rule, was located in a hollowed-out tree log, it was necessary to break the honeycomb, that is, to ruin the bee family. The surviving swarm of bees can live independently, without human help. This indicates that bees are not yet fully domesticated.
Ants- social hymenoptera. They do not have a sting, but they have a poisonous gland, thanks to which they can protect themselves from enemies. Red forest ants bring great benefits to the forest. The ants of one anthill eat tens of thousands of insects per day and protect a forest covering an area of 0.2 hectares from pests. They live in families.
The anthill consists of above-ground and underground parts. Most of the ants living in the anthill are wingless workers - these are sterile females. Their number sometimes reaches a million. Besides them, the queen lives in the anthill. She also doesn't have wings. She breaks them off after the mating flight. She lays eggs all her life, and all the care for the anthill lies with the working ants. They obtain food, repair and clean the anthill, feed the larvae and the queen, and defend the anthill in case of attack by enemies. Once a year, at the beginning of summer, winged females and males appear in the anthill from pupae and set off on a mating flight. After mating, the males die, and the females shed their wings and establish a new anthill. They can also end up in the anthill in which they developed.
Most ants are predators. Some feed on the sweet secretions of aphids. For this purpose, ants protect, “graze”these insects feed on plants, and sometimes shelters are built for them. Other types of ants breed mushrooms in underground chambers for their food, bringing crushed plant leaves for this. There are herbivorous ants.
Ants communicate by touching each other with their antennae, legs and heads. In addition, they have a “chemical language” - they secrete special substances with which they mark their paths. Ants recognize relatives and enemies by smell.
WITH false behavior of social insects is called instinctive because instinct - a set of innate aspects of behavior, fixed hereditarily and characteristic of a certain species of animal. The behavior of bees, ants and some other animals is so surprising and complex that it leads many people to believe that it is intelligent. However, these actions of animals are instinctive and unconscious.
Domesticated insects
There is only one thing completelydomesticated insect , not found in nature in the wild, -silkworm ; females of this species have even “forgot how” to fly. An adult insect is a thick butterfly with whitish wings with a span of up to 6 cm. The caterpillars of this silkworm eat only mulberry or mulberry leaves.
Scientists suggest that in the wild, the ancestor of the silkworm lived in the foothills of the Himalayas. The butterfly was domesticated in China around 3 thousand years BC. e. Nowadays, this insect is completely domesticated. It is bred in China, Japan, Indochina, Southern Europe, South America, Central Asia and the Caucasus - where the mulberry tree can grow. There are several dozen breeds of silkworms, varying in length, strength and color of the silk thread they produce.
Female silkworms lay eggs (each female - up to 600 eggs), which are calledGreena . Caterpillars emerge from them. These caterpillars are fed mulberry leaves in special rooms on feeding shelves. During pupation, each caterpillar howls for three days.
Goals and objectives: to generalize and expand knowledge about insects, to reveal the structural features and behavior of the honey bee, the silkworm, to show their practical significance, to teach children to compare, analyze, draw conclusions, and cultivate a love of nature. Even the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) divided the animal world into two main groups: “with blood” (now vertebrates) and “without blood” (invertebrates). From the last group, he singled out “entomons”, from Greek “insects” “insektum” - from Latin means “insect” Insecticides are chemical preparations for controlling insect pests. this is the extraction of honey from forest bees and their breeding. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Ukrainian landowner Pyotr Ivanovich Prokopovich first used the collapsible beehive he invented. the presence within one species of individuals that differ in appearance. In bees, this is due to the division of functions of different individuals in the family and colony. There are queen bees, drone bees and worker bees. Has a pointed long abdomen. Its new role is mating and laying eggs. Appears from fertilized eggs. The larvae are fed with crop milk; the development time is 16 days. Lives up to 5 years. There is one queen in the family. The drone has large eyes touching at the back of the head and a rounded abdomen. Develops from unfertilized eggs. The larvae feed on crop milk for 3-4 days, then on beebread (pollen soaked in honey); larval development takes 24 days. There are several hundred drones in a family, they live for one season (summer-autumn) They have “baskets” on their hind legs for collecting pollen and “brushes” - wide segments with hard bristles. With their help, bees collect adhering pollen from their bodies, moisten it with nectar and place it in baskets. On the lower surface of the abdomen there are smooth areas without hairs - mirrors, on the surface of which wax is secreted. Bees make hexagonal cells from it - honeycombs: large, medium and small. Develop from fertilized eggs, the larvae feed on milk for 3-4 days, then on beebread. Development cycle: egg (3 days), larva (6 days), pupa (12 days). On the 21st day after laying eggs, a young bee emerges. Their responsibilities: cleaning cells, feeding the queen and larvae, building honeycombs, scouting, collecting food, protecting the hive. Bees collect nectar from flowers in the extension of the esophagus (honey crop), and then secrete it into the cells of the honeycomb. Nectar mixed with gland secretions turns into honey. The uterus lays fertilized eggs in large and small cells, and unfertilized eggs in medium cells. The worker bees feed the larvae hatched from the eggs with “goiter milk”. Then only the larvae in large cells receive the “milk”, while the rest receive pollen and honey. Queens emerge from large cells, drones emerge from medium cells, and worker bees emerge from small cells. Before leaving the cell, the young queen makes sounds. The old queen tries to kill her, but this is prevented by the worker bees guarding the young queen. Soon after this, the old queen leaves the nest with some of the worker bees. The emerging swarm of bees lands somewhere on a branch or at the base of a tree, and then, having found a hollow, the bees settle in it. The young queen emerging from the eggs seeks out the sealed cells in which other queens are developing and kills them. After a few days, she flies out of the hive, rushes upward, and several dozen drones fly behind her. This is the mating flight of the female and males. After fertilization, the female returns to the hive and begins laying eggs. Only the queen and worker bees overwinter in the hive. Drone worker bees in the fall Propolis, or bee glue - Contains essential oils, wax, pollen. Medicinal properties: Pain reliever (5.2 times stronger than novocaine). Antipruritic, antimicrobial. Tones the body, improves immunity. Strengthens tooth enamel. Anesthetizes and softens calluses. Contains mineral salts, trace elements, sex hormones, vitamins, folic acid. Increases the content of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood. Increases appetite and weight. Stimulates hair growth. Improves memory and vision. Increases immunity. This product is produced by the wax glands of bees. The composition of wax is complex and not fully understood. The wax is very rich in vitamin A, necessary for the development of the epithelium of the skin, bronchial mucosa, throat, nose, stomach and intestines, and for visual acuity. It has antimicrobial, nourishing and regenerating effects. Therapeutic effect: Has a pronounced anti-inflammatory, analgesic effect. Increases the body's overall resistance and immunity. Dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure. Reduces blood viscosity and clotting. Reduces cholesterol in the blood. The thread is formed when the liquid secreted on the lower lip from the silk gland hardens. Silkworm breeding began in China about 5 thousand years ago. During the process of domestication, female silkworms stopped flying. Females lay 300-600 eggs. The eggs are covered with a dense shell of chitin and are called grena. They are fed mulberry leaves. Caterpillars grow and moult. After the fourth molt, brooms made of dry twigs - cocoon racks - are placed on the shelves. Caterpillars crawl onto them, spin cocoons and pupate. The cocoons are collected and some of them are sent to special stations to obtain greens, while the rest are sent to factories, where they are treated with hot steam and unwound on special machines. The threads are used to make silk, and the frozen pupae are used to feed farm animals. The largest insects are inhabitants of the tropics. The limbs used for movement are located on the thoracic and abdominal sections. All species of ants and termites are social insects. Most insects are pests. The most numerous order of insects is beetles. All insects have a pupal stage. The science that studies insects is called... Order "Coleoptera" or... Order "Hemiptera" or... Order "Lepidoptera" or... Among insects with complete transformation, the only order, all of whose representatives are wingless... Insect collectors cause the greatest damage... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Beekeeping. Insecticides. Polymorphism. Malpighian vessels “Baskets” “Mirrors” 1. Name the insect guardians of “patents for technical inventions”. 2. Which insects are social and what benefits does a social lifestyle provide? 3. Why is the “blood” (hemolymph) of insects usually colorless and very rarely red? 4. Why can’t you immediately kill a wasp or bee that stings you? 1. The bee has “navigation” equipment, dragonflies and some flies are capable of hovering in the air in flight and sharply moving sideways and backwards at high speed; The caterpillars of the corn borer and pear borer do not freeze during strong cooling due to the presence of “antifreeze.” They live in large colonies. Each colony is one family, the offspring of one female. They are characterized by division of labor, protection, and a certain microclimate (temperature, humidity) is maintained in their homes, which is inaccessible to solitary species. Since it is not of great importance for supplying tissues with oxygen. It serves, first of all, to transport nutrients coming from the intestines, remove metabolic products from cells, and distribute hormones in cells. Red “blood”, for example, in bloodworms is the larvae of the bell-bellied mosquito. Hemoglobin serves to bind and store oxygen (bloodworms live in muddy soil where there is not enough oxygen) Special chemicals are released (the “smell of alarm”), which put nearby relatives into an aggressive state. Defending the nest, they fly to the source of the smell and actively sting the enemy.
» Arthropods » Beneficial insects
Insects, like all living organisms without exception, play an important role in nature. Representatives of this superclass (both large beetles and tiny flies) exist everywhere and take their place in the biosphere. There are practically no places on Earth where they are not at least one, or even several, important links in the food chain. Some insects eat plants, some eat their own kind, but both the first and second serve as food for larger animals. From this point of view, tiny arthropods are no less significant elements of the fauna than, for example, animals or fish.
We should not forget that insects pollinate flowering plants, and this is the primary basis for the functioning of most of the world's flora. What is a person? What does he get from beetles, butterflies, ants, grasshoppers and the like? It turns out that insects take an active part in our lives.
Domesticated insects
Throughout his existence, man has constantly domesticated animals, in particular those that were of obvious benefit to him, were easily kept in captivity and were amenable to training. Such pets are found among mammals, birds and even fish. Insects are not left out either: the honey bee and the silkworm are domesticated. True, these species are practically the only ones. Apart from them, the only people that come to mind are the inhabitants of exotariums and various exhibitions (stick insects, strange beetles and other tropical six-legged creatures), but it is a stretch to consider them domesticated.
In the service of man
Even if we leave aside the production of silk and the storehouse of products that the striped workers of the hives provide, the benefits of insects for humans are still undeniable. Pollination and its importance for wildlife, but it is obvious that this phenomenon is no less important for cultivated plants, and, consequently, for the world Agriculture and the economy as a whole. In addition, since some representatives of the superclass are pests, then in the fight against them, who, if not their potential enemies (carnivorous species), will become the most formidable weapon? It is for these purposes that, for example, the odorous beetle (Calosoma sycophanta), ichneumon wasps and other predators are used. no less valuable are cochineal mealybugs (Dactylopius coccus) - the dye carmine is extracted from them, as well as dried borers, click beetles and some other beetles - they are used for manufacturing jewelry. Finally, we should not forget that many insects can be eaten.
Refer to Figures 166, 167, 171 to see the structural features of the honey bee and the silkworm. How are these insects useful?
Types of domesticated insects. Of all the known insects, humans have domesticated only the honey bee and the silkworm. Bees began to be bred for honey and wax, and silkworms for silk. Subsequently, branches of the economy developed - beekeeping and sericulture.
Honey bee. This insect lives in large families: wild - in tree hollows, domestic - in hives. Each family has a female - the queen, several hundred males - drones and up to 70 thousand worker bees (Fig. 166).
The queen bee is the largest bee in the family. Starting in spring, she lays eggs day and night (up to 2000 per day). Drones are medium-sized bees with large eyes touching at the back of the head (they live in the colony from the time they emerge from the pupae until autumn). Worker bees are smaller than other family members and differ from them in a number of structural and behavioral features.
On the underside of the worker bee's abdomen there are smooth areas without hairs - speculum. Wax is released on their surface. Bees make hexagonal cells from it - honeycombs: large, medium and small. On the outer side of the hind legs of worker bees, one depression is noticeable, surrounded by long hairs. These are baskets. The hind legs also have brushes - wide segments with hard bristles (Fig. 167). With their help, bees collect adhering flower pollen from their bodies, moisten it with nectar and place it in baskets. The resulting clumps of pollen are called pollen pollen. Having arrived at the hive, the bees place them in the honeycombs. Other worker bees compact the pollen and soak it in honey. Bee bread is formed - a supply of protein feed.
Bees collect nectar from flowers in the extension of the esophagus (honey crop), and then secrete it into the cells of the honeycomb. Nectar mixed with secretions from the pharyngeal glands of a worker bee turns into honey. This creates a supply of sugary food in the hive. “Milk” is produced in special glands of worker bees. They feed it to the queen and white worm-like larvae that develop from the eggs laid by the queen.
At the end of the abdomen of worker bees there is a retractable serrated sting. This is a modified ovipositor. There is a poison gland at the base of the sting. With the help of a stinger, a bee stings its enemies. A bee that has stung a person cannot remove the stinger from his skin, and it comes off with a piece internal organs. This leads to the death of the bee.
Worker bees also do other work: ventilate the hive, clean it, and seal the cracks.
Development of bees. The uterus lays fertilized eggs in large and small cells, and unfertilized eggs in medium cells. The worker bees feed the larvae hatched from the eggs with “milk”. Then only the larvae developing in large cells receive the “milk”, the rest receive pollen and honey (Fig. 168). Queens emerge from large cells, drones emerge from medium cells, and worker bees emerge from small cells.
Swarming. Before leaving the cell, the young queen makes sounds. The old queen tries to kill her, but this is prevented by the worker bees protecting the young one.
Soon after this, the old queen leaves the nest with some of the worker bees. The emerging swarm of bees lands somewhere on a branch (Fig. 169) or at the base of a tree, and then, having found a hollow, the bees settle in it. Mating flight. The young queen emerging from the cell seeks out the sealed cells in which other queens are developing and kills them. After a few days, she flies out of the hive, rushes upward, and several dozen drones fly behind her. This is the mating flight of the female and males. After fertilization, the female returns to the hive and begins laying eggs.
Only the queen and worker bees overwinter in the apiary in hives (Fig. 170). The worker bees drive the drones out of the hive in the fall and they die.
Silkworm. The silkworm is a medium-sized white butterfly (Fig. 171). Before pupation, its caterpillars weave cocoons from silk thread, which is formed when the liquid secreted from the silk gland on the lower lip hardens.
Silkworm breeding began in China about 5 thousand years ago. In the process of domestication from generation to generation, butterflies that laid many eggs and had underdeveloped wings were left for breeding. As a result of long-term selection, female silkworms stopped flying, which made them easier to maintain. The selection of large cocoons led to the fact that their thread became long - up to 1000 m or more.
The spread of sericulture is associated with the places where the mulberry tree, or mulberry, grows, the leaves of which feed on the silkworm caterpillars. Over the past decades, various breeds of silkworms have been developed, differing in the size of the cocoons, their color, length and strength of the thread.
Female silkworms lay 300–600 eggs. The eggs are covered with a dense chitinized shell and are called grena. Caterpillars are raised on special shelves with canvas shelves. They are fed mulberry leaves.
Caterpillars grow and moult. After the fourth molt, brooms made of dry twigs - cocoon racks - are placed on the shelves. Caterpillars crawl onto them, spin cocoons and pupate.
The cocoons are collected and some of them are sent to special stations to obtain greens, while the rest are sent to factories, where they are treated with hot steam and unwound on special machines. The threads are used to make silk, and the frozen pupae are used to feed farm animals.
➊ What insects are domesticated by humans and for what purpose? ➋ What is the composition of the bee colony? ➌ What kind of work do worker bees do in a colony? ➍ What adaptations do worker bees have for collecting pollen and nectar, for building honeycombs, and for feeding larvae? ➎ In what case do queens hatch from eggs laid by a queen, and in what case do drones and worker bees hatch? ➏ What is a swarm of bees and how is it formed? ➐ What is the significance of the honey bee in nature and in human life? ➑ For what purpose are silkworms bred? ➒ What changes occurred to the silkworm during the process of domestication? ➓ How are silkworm caterpillars raised?
Using Figure 77, remember what types of animals you studied and what main classes they combine. From type to type, trace which animals developed certain organ systems and how they improved during the historical development of the animal world.
In order for 100 g of honey to be produced in a hive, a worker bee must visit about 1,000,000 flowers. A person receives from bees not only honey and wax, but also poison, royal jelly, propolis (the glue that bees use to seal the cracks in the hive), which are widely used in medicine.
In sericulture farms, 70-80 kg of cocoons are obtained from 25 g of grain.
Types of domestic insects.
Bee family.
Worker bees also perform other work: ventilate the hive, clean it, seal the cracks, etc. Each of them goes through all types of activities during its life as it develops certain glands.
Bee development.
Silkworm.
Over the past decades, various breeds of silkworms have been developed, differing in the size of the cocoons, their color, length and strength of the thread.
Articles and publications:
PIKINGDOOM MULTICELLULAR ANIMALS
TYPE ARTHROPODA
DOMESTIC INSECTS
Types of domestic insects. Since ancient times, people have been breeding certain types of insects to obtain valuable products from them. First of all, it is a honey bee, which gives humans honey, propolis, bee bread, royal jelly, and wax. Silkworm breeding for the purpose of producing natural silk is an important branch of the national economy of many countries.
Honey bee. Bees are social insects. They live in large families: wild ones in tree hollows, domestic ones in hives. Each family has a female - the queen, several hundred males - drones (they live from the time they emerge from the pupae until autumn) and up to 70 thousand worker bees. The queen bee is the largest bee in the family, whose function is to lay eggs. Starting in spring, the queen lays about 2 thousand eggs per day. Drones are medium-sized bees with large eyes that touch at the back of their heads. It is the drones that fertilize the queen. All the work in the hive is done by worker bees - underdeveloped females incapable of reproducing. They are smaller than other family members.
Features of the structure and behavior of worker bees. On the underside of the worker bee's abdomen there are smooth, hairless areas - mirrors, on the surface of which wax is secreted, from which it makes hexagonal cells - honeycombs (large, medium and small). On the hind legs of bees there is one “basket” and one “tassel” with which they collect pollen. Having arrived at the hive, the bees place it in the cells of the honeycomb. Other worker bees compact the pollen and soak it in honey. Bee bread is formed - a supply of protein feed. Bees regurgitate the nectar collected from flowers into honeycombs from the honey crop. Here it turns into honey - a supply of sugary food. “Milk” is produced in special glands of worker bees. They feed the queen and larvae with it.
At the end of the abdomen of worker bees there is a retractable serrated sting, which is connected to a poison gland and is used for protection.
In addition, worker bees ventilate the hive, clean it, seal the cracks, etc. Each of them, during its life, goes through all types of activities to the extent that certain glands develop in it.
Bee development. The queen lays fertilized eggs in large and small honeycombs, and unfertilized eggs in medium ones. The larvae that develop from eggs are fed “milk” by worker bees. Then only the larvae of large ones receive the “milk”, while others receive pollen and honey. After the last moult of the larvae, the worker bees seal the honeycombs with wax. Soon the larvae turn into pupae, and subsequently into adult insects. They gnaw through the wax caps and crawl to the surface of the wax. The large ones produce queen bees, the medium ones produce drones, and the small ones produce worker bees.
Silkworm. This is a medium-sized white butterfly. While lining, its caterpillar wraps itself with a thin thread, which is secreted by the spinning glands. Unwinding these cocoons, a person receives natural silk. Silkworm breeding began in China about 5 thousand years ago. In the process of domestication from generation to generation, butterflies were left for breeding; they laid many eggs and had underdeveloped wings, and large cocoons were woven from their caterpillars (their thread reached a length of up to 1000 m or more).
In recent decades, various breeds of silkworms have been bred, differing in the size of the cocoons, their color, length and strength of the thread.
Of all the known insects, humans have domesticated only the honey bee and the silkworm. When breeding bees, it was possible to have honey and wax, and when breeding silkworms, silk was possible.
Bee family
Honeybees live in large families: wild ones in tree hollows, domestic ones in hives. Each family has a female - the queen, several hundred males - drones (they live from the time they emerge from the pupae until autumn) and up to 70 thousand worker bees. The queen bee is the largest bee in the family. Starting in spring, she lays eggs (up to 2000 per day). Drones are medium-sized bees with large eyes touching at the back of the head. They fertilize the uterus. Worker bees do all the work in the hive. They are smaller than the rest of the family.
Honey bees
Families of honey bees can be classified as clearly social colonies. In a family, each bee performs its own function. The functions of a bee are conditionally determined by its biological age. However, as has been established, in the absence of older bees, their functions can be performed by bees older younger ages.
It is necessary to distinguish between the actual and biological age of the bee, since during the honeybee the worker bee lives from 30 to 35 days, and during wintering the bee remains biologically young for up to 9 months (Central Russian gray bee in the conditions of northern Russia and Siberia). When indicating the life span and periods of development of bees, they usually focus on the life expectancy of the bee at the time of the honeybee.
Features of the structure and behavior of worker bees. On the underside of the worker bee's abdomen there are smooth areas called speculum. Wax is released onto their surface. Bees make hexagonal cells from it - honeycombs: large, medium and small. On the hind legs of bees there is one “basket” and one “brush”. With their help, they collect flower pollen. Having arrived at the hive, the bees place it in the cells of the honeycomb. Other worker bees compact the pollen and soak it in honey. Bee bread is formed - a supply of protein feed. The bees regurgitate the nectar collected from flowers into cells from the honey crop. Here it turns into honey - a supply of sugary food. “Milk” is produced in special glands of worker bees. They feed the queen and larvae with it. At the end of the abdomen of worker bees there is a retractable serrated sting associated with a poison gland and used for protection.
Worker bees also perform other work: ventilate the hive, clean it, seal the cracks, etc. Each of them goes through all types of activities during its life as it develops certain glands. Young worker bees (up to 10 days old) make up the queen’s retinue, feeding her and the larvae, since young bees secrete royal jelly well. From approximately 7 days of age, wax glands begin to work on the lower part of the bee's abdomen and wax begins to be secreted in the form of small plates. Such bees gradually switch to construction works in the nest. As a rule, in the spring there is a massive rebuilding of white honeycombs - this is due to the fact that by this period the overwintered bees en masse reach the biological age corresponding to the rebuilding bees.
Around 14-15 days, the productivity of the wax glands drops sharply and the bees switch to the following types nest care activities - they clean the cells, clean up and remove garbage. From the age of about 20 days, bees switch to ventilating the nest and guarding the entrance. Bees older than 22-25 days are mainly engaged in honey collection. To inform other bees about the location of nectar, the foraging bee uses visual biocommunication. Bees over 30 days old switch from honey collection to collecting water for the needs of the family. This bee life cycle is designed for the most rational utilization of nutrients and the use of the available number of bees in the family. The bee's body contains the largest amount of excess nutrients when it leaves the cell. At the same time, most bees die when they take water from natural reservoirs. Much fewer of them die when collecting honey from flowers and when approaching the hive.
Bee development. The uterus lays fertilized eggs in large and small cells, and unfertilized eggs in medium cells. The worker bees feed the larvae hatched from the eggs with “milk”. Then only the larvae of large cells receive the “milk”, the rest receive pollen and honey. After the last molt of the larvae, the worker bees seal the cells with wax. Soon the larvae pupate, and then adult insects emerge from the pupae. They gnaw through the wax caps and crawl out to the surface of the honeycomb. Queens emerge from large cells, drones emerge from medium cells, and worker bees emerge from small cells.
Silkworm
The silkworm is a medium-sized white butterfly. Before pupation, its caterpillars weave cocoons from silk thread. Silkworm breeding began in China about 5 thousand years ago. In the process of domestication from generation to generation, butterflies were left for breeding, which laid many eggs and had underdeveloped wings, and their caterpillars wove large cocoons (their thread became up to 1000 m long or more).
Silkworm
The silkworm belongs to the insect class, a representative of the arthropod phylum. This silkworm may be an example of a domesticated insect. As a domestic insect, people have been breeding the silkworm for several millennia; it has lost the properties of its wild ancestors and can no longer live in natural conditions. He has developed a number of adaptations that greatly facilitate his breeding. For example, silkworm butterflies have essentially lost the ability to fly. Females are especially inactive. The caterpillars are also inactive and do not crawl away.
The silkworm, like other butterflies, develops with complete transformation. The silkworm butterfly has a wingspan of 40 to 60 mm. The color of its body and wings is dirty white with more or less distinct brownish bands. By appearance A female silkworm is quite easy to distinguish from a male. She has a more massive abdomen than the male, and her antennae are less developed. On the first day after leaving the cocoon (silk shell), the female insect lays eggs, the so-called grena. A clutch contains on average from 500 to 700 eggs. Egg laying lasts three days.
A caterpillar emerges from an egg. She grows quickly and sheds four times. Caterpillars develop within 26–32 days. The duration of their development depends on the breed, temperature, air humidity, quantity and quality of food, etc. The silkworm caterpillar feeds on mulberry leaves. At the end of development, the caterpillar strongly develops a pair of silk glands. They intensively secrete liquid, which quickly thickens in air, turning into a silk thread. From this thinnest thread, reaching 1000 m in length, the caterpillar spins a cocoon. In the cocoon, the caterpillar turns into a pupa. The co-con shell protects the pupa from various adverse conditions.
Cocoons come in different colors: pink, greenish, yellow, etc. But for industrial needs, currently only breeds with white cocoons are bred. A butterfly is formed from the pupa.
It secretes a special liquid that dissolves the sticky substance of the cocoon. With its head and legs, the butterfly pushes the silks apart and exits the cocoon through the resulting hole. Over the past decades, various breeds of silkworms have been developed, differing in the size of the cocoons, their color, length and strength of the thread.
PIKINGDOOM MULTICELLULAR ANIMALS
TYPE ARTHROPODA
DOMESTIC INSECTS
Types of domestic insects. Since ancient times, people have been breeding certain types of insects to obtain valuable products from them. First of all, it is a honey bee, which gives humans honey, propolis, bee bread, royal jelly, and wax. Silkworm breeding for the purpose of producing natural silk is an important branch of the national economy of many countries.
Honey bee. Bees are social insects. They live in large families: wild ones - in tree hollows, domestic ones - in beehives. Each family has a female - the queen, several hundred males - drones (they live from the time they emerge from the pupae until autumn) and up to 70 thousand worker bees. The queen bee is the largest bee in the family, whose function is to lay eggs. Starting in spring, the queen lays about 2 thousand eggs per day. Drones are medium-sized bees with large eyes that touch at the back of their heads. It is the drones that fertilize the queen. All the work in the hive is done by worker bees - underdeveloped females, incapable of reproduction. They are smaller than other family members.
Features of the structure and behavior of worker bees. On the underside of the worker bee's abdomen there are smooth, hairless areas - mirrors, on the surface of which wax is secreted, from which it makes hexagonal cells - honeycombs (large, medium and small). On the hind legs of bees there is one “basket” and one “tassel” with which they collect pollen. Having arrived at the hive, the bees place it in the cells of the honeycomb. Other worker bees compact the pollen and soak it in honey. Bee bread is formed - a supply of protein feed. Bees regurgitate the nectar collected from flowers into honeycombs from the honey crop. Here it turns into honey - a supply of sugary food. “Milk” is produced in special glands of worker bees. They feed the queen and larvae with it. At the end of the abdomen of worker bees there is a retractable serrated sting, which is connected to a poison gland and is used for protection.
In addition, worker bees ventilate the hive, clean it, seal the cracks, etc. Each of them, during its life, goes through all types of activities to the extent that certain glands develop in it.
Bee development. The queen lays fertilized eggs in large and small honeycombs, and unfertilized eggs in medium ones. The larvae that develop from eggs are fed “milk” by worker bees. Then only the larvae of large ones receive the “milk”, while others receive pollen and honey. After the last moult of the larvae, the worker bees seal the honeycombs with wax. Soon the larvae turn into pupae, and subsequently into adult insects. They gnaw through the wax caps and crawl to the surface of the wax. Queen bees emerge from large ones, drones emerge from medium-sized ones, and worker bees emerge from small ones.
Silkworm. This is a medium-sized white butterfly. While lining, its caterpillar wraps itself with a thin thread, which is secreted by the spinning glands. By unwinding these cocoons, a person receives natural silk. Silkworm breeding began in China about 5 thousand years ago. In the process of domestication from generation to generation, butterflies were left for breeding; they laid many eggs and had underdeveloped wings, and large cocoons were woven from their caterpillars (their thread reached a length of up to 1000 m or more).
In recent decades, various breeds of silkworms have been bred, differing in the size of the cocoons, their color, length and strength of the thread.
The importance of insects in human life
Insects in life and economic activity people have both positive and negative meanings. There are more than one million insects in total, so the real pests that really need to be fought are only 1%. But other insects are either beneficial or indifferent to humans.
There are domesticated insects, for example, the honey bee and the silkworm - they are specially bred. The honeybee produces honey, wax, propolis, apilac, royal jelly, and the silkworm produces silk thread, which can be continuous and reach 1000 meters.
In addition to these insects, the caterpillars of the oak cocoon moth are very valuable - they have a coarser silk thread and it is suitable for making comb fabric, lacquer bugs - they secrete a wax-like substance with insulating properties, which is used in radio - and carmine bugs - they produce red carmine dye , blister beetles - they secrete a caustic substance called cantharidin, which is used to make blister plaster.
Insect pollinators - they represent many orders, among them Hymenoptera occupy an important place - they increase the yield of seeds, berries, fruits, flowers of many cultivated plants - fruits and berries, vegetables, fodder, flowers.
The importance of insects in nature
Insects make up 80% of all animals on Earth. By the way, according to various estimates, there are from 2 to 10 million species of insects in the modern fauna, and of these, only a little more than 1 million are known so far. Actively participating in the cycle of substances, insects play a global planetary role in nature.
For example, more than 80% of plants are pollinated only by insects. It is safe to say that a flower is an exceptional result of the joint evolution of plants and insects. The adaptations of flowering plants to attract insects are varied: pollen, nectar, essential oils, aroma, shape and color of the flower. But the adaptations of insects are the sucking proboscis of butterflies, the gnawing-licking proboscis of bees; or special pollen-collecting apparatus - bees and bumblebees have a brush and a basket on the hind legs, megachila bees have an abdominal brush, numerous hairs on the legs and body.
Insects also play a significant role in soil formation. This participation is associated not only with loosening the soil and enriching it with humus by soil insects and their larvae, but also with the decomposition of plant and animal remains - plants, corpses, animal excrement, while simultaneously fulfilling a sanitary role and the circulation of substances in nature.
The following types of insects perform various sanitary roles:
Coprophagous - among them dung beetles, dung flies and cow flies;
Necrophages - such as carrion beetles, gravediggers, leather beetles, meat-eating flies and carrion flies;
Insects that are destroyers of dead plant debris: be it wood, branches, leaves, needles - these are borer beetles, longhorned beetle larvae, golden beetles, horntails, long-legged mosquitoes, carpenter ants, fungus gnats and so on;
Insects-sanitizers that feed on suspended or settled rotting organic matter (detritus) - these are the larvae of mosquitoes, or bells, mayflies, caddis flies, purify water and serve as a bioindicator of its sanitary condition.
Thus, insects are essential element food pyramids. Many animals feed on insects: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
This is interesting!
Adult sizes of modern insects range from 0.139 mm (0.00547 inches) for fireflies to 55.5 cm (21.9 inches) for stick insects.
Scientists have discovered the longest insect on the island of Borneo - a stick insect, the length of which reaches half a meter. So far, experts have discovered only three individuals and can say practically nothing about the characteristics of this species.
Another notable find was a chameleon frog. At night, the covers of these 3.5 centimeter amphibians are bright green, and during the day their body color turns brown.
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