MargotI love insects. They are so sophisticated in what they can do. They can be real pests for farmers but if we would have more diverse crops and biodiversity we would have less pests.
The aphid is very cool, it gives live birth to female nymphs, mostly already pregnant! an adaptation scientists call telescoping generations—without the involvement of males. Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonize new plants.
Aphids probably evolved from a common ancestor some 280 million years ago, in the Early Permian period.
And then this, amazing stuff, and this is just a ini mini bit of wonder from one species, imagine! (from wiki):
Xylem sap consumption may be related to osmoregulation.High osmotic pressure in the stomach, caused by high sucrose concentration, can lead to water transfer from the hemolymph to the stomach, thus resulting in hyperosmotic stress and eventually to the death of the insect. Aphids avoid this fate by osmoregulating through several processes. Sucrose concentration is directly reduced by assimilating sucrose toward metabolism and by synthesizing oligosaccharides from several sucrose molecules, thus reducing the solute concentration and consequently the osmotic pressure. Oligosaccharides are then excreted through honeydew, explaining its high sugar concentrations, which can then be used by other animals such as ants. Eventually, aphids consume xylem sap to dilute the stomach osmotic pressure. All these processes function synergetically, and enable aphids to feed on high-sucrose-concentration plant sap, as well as to adapt to varying sucrose concentrations.
Soon we humans will face a grim future without our creepy crawlers, as they got named and killed by the trillions.
Its a sad story, we could change the story but we are too lazy for that.
#drawings #insects #ink #fineliner #artonpaper #lazy
The aphid is very cool, it gives live birth to female nymphs, mostly already pregnant! an adaptation scientists call telescoping generations—without the involvement of males. Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonize new plants.
Aphids probably evolved from a common ancestor some 280 million years ago, in the Early Permian period.
And then this, amazing stuff, and this is just a ini mini bit of wonder from one species, imagine! (from wiki):
Xylem sap consumption may be related to osmoregulation.High osmotic pressure in the stomach, caused by high sucrose concentration, can lead to water transfer from the hemolymph to the stomach, thus resulting in hyperosmotic stress and eventually to the death of the insect. Aphids avoid this fate by osmoregulating through several processes. Sucrose concentration is directly reduced by assimilating sucrose toward metabolism and by synthesizing oligosaccharides from several sucrose molecules, thus reducing the solute concentration and consequently the osmotic pressure. Oligosaccharides are then excreted through honeydew, explaining its high sugar concentrations, which can then be used by other animals such as ants. Eventually, aphids consume xylem sap to dilute the stomach osmotic pressure. All these processes function synergetically, and enable aphids to feed on high-sucrose-concentration plant sap, as well as to adapt to varying sucrose concentrations.
Soon we humans will face a grim future without our creepy crawlers, as they got named and killed by the trillions.
Its a sad story, we could change the story but we are too lazy for that.
#drawings #insects #ink #fineliner #artonpaper #lazy
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