BESS BEETLES LAB BIOLN107 N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T 2 BESS BEETLE Classification Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Coleoptera Family Passalidae Ecology Bess bugs are Beneficial forest service by decomposers that feed on microorganisms in dead wood recycling dead wood material inside the tunnels Burrow into logs and live Behavior Adult Bess bugs can produce 14 different calls Regarded as the strongest creatures in the animal kingdom Their strength is important for the ability to excavate HYPOTHESIS SECTION 2 Hypothesize the pulling power of Bess bugs and how it relates to size and or mass of the beetle Bess bugs with larger body size or greater mass will exhibit higher pulling power compared to smaller or lighter beetles 3 Generate an additional hypothesis we could test using this experimental design Bess bugs of same size and mass but from different populations may exhibit differences in pulling power N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T 3 1 Will all Bess bugs have the same pulling power Why or why not I don t believe that Bess bugs will have the same pulling power because pulling power can vary based on the beetles size physical condition and muscle strength N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T 4 EXPERIMENT 1 Mass the sled that will hold the washers and put the mass 2 Mass your Bess bug in grams and measure the length of grams in the data table the beetle in centimeters 3 Mass 10 washers Take the total mass and divide by 10 to 4 5 6 get the average mass of the washers Attach the Bess bug to the washer sled Place beetle and sled on pulling area Add washers one at a time until the beetle cannot move the sled any further and measure the amount of mass Repeat steps 4 6 two more times 7 8 When finished place Bess bug back in its holding container N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T 5 DATA TABLE AND COLLECTIONS Beet les Leng th cm 3 6 Beet les Wei ght g 1 88 Grou p Nam e The Beetl es Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Aver age 44 1 7 46 9 7 58 1 9 49 7 8 26 4 8 Pulli ng Pow er g g Pulli ng Pow er g c m 13 8 3 GRAMS PULLED ON Y AXIS AND GRAMS MASS BEETLE ON X AXIS N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T 6 GRAMS PULLED ON Y AXIS AND LENGTH IN CM ON X AXIS N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T 7 N O I T A T N E S E R P E L T I T POST S AND REFLECTION 1 What can we tell about the relationship between mass and length and the ability to pull mass Larger and more massive beetles may have an advantage when it comes to pulling mass because of their muscle power However the relationship can also depend on 8 factors like the beetle s adaptation to its environment 2 What advantages would beetles have in their natural environment if they were stronger than the other members of the group Enhanced ability to Improved ability to move or manipulate objects in their environment defend against predators or compete for resources Increased ability to 3 If you had the strength of a beetle what would be your pulling ratio Your weight x g g ratio of your beetle 58967 1 39 42 422 3 Reflection This lab was interesting I ve never had a lab like it I am not much of a insect fan but it was cool to learn about pulling power and relate it back to our learning outcomes