Exam Review Worksheet

Cue cards
Terms: 8 9 10 12
Ant colony optimization
- A method based on the real way ants find the shortest/best routes between two points
(i.e. from their colony to a food source)
- It mimics how ants use phermones to mark paths to optimize the routes
Bee bread
- Fed to eggs by worker bees
- Made in cells; layers of pollen, mixed with honey, bee digestive enzymes, and microbes -
Cell is sealed with beeswax; keeps oxygen out, allows for fermentation (increases
digestibility and releases nutrients)
Bioink
- Silk from Silkmoth B. mori and two different species mixed with gelatin as a bioink (3D
printing scaffolds for live cells)
Boll weevil
- Order: colepetra
- Largest pest in north america
- Females lay 100-300 eggs in cotton buds
- Larva live in cotton destroying value and seeds. Pesticides are ineffective as they live
inside the cotton buds.
Bombyx mori
- Domesticated silk moth; mulberry silkworm
Caste
- Individuals are a part of groups, known as this. Different shapes, sizes, and roles -
All related to the queen, but epigenetic factors create differences (i.e. nutrition) -
Queens, nurses, foragers, farmers, cleaners, builders, soldiers, drones
Degumming

- When sericin is washed away through the process of soaking the silk in boiling water
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle
- Native to SW United States desert
- Elytra are permanently fused – this is therefore a ground-dwelling beetle -
Requires protection from predators as cannot fly away from them
- Can withstand pressures 39,000 times their body weight, that is, 10 times higher than
biting forces of predators
- Layered structure of chitin (material of exoskeleton) and interlocking joint between
elytra has been found to be the cause of this strength
- Engineers are considering applications – received funding at UCI from U.S. Air Force
Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Army Research Office, the U.S. Department of
Energy and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology’s Institute of Global
Innovation Research

Eusocial
- An advanced level of social organisation
- Division of labour, most individuals do not reproduce/are sterile
- Generations overlap; older care for younger
- Communication systems; recognition, alarms, information
- Some types of bees (honeybees), termites, wasps, ants
Fibroin
- A protein that creates the centre of the silk fibre
- A solution primarily of fibroin is moved through the silk gland and coated with sericin
Fire ants
- Invasive
- Produces large mounds in open areas
- Feeds on young plants, insects, and seeds
Forensic entomology
- Study of the application of insects and other arthropods in criminal investigations
 Fruit fly
- Drosophila melanogaster
- a model organism in genetics research
- ~2 week life cycle
- indiscriminant mating
- prolific breeding
- easy to grow in lab
- Can be temporarily sedated for examination of traits and selection for breeding -
small enough so you can keep 1000s per bottle
- Food - bananas (cost effective)
- four pairs of chromosomes per nucleus – cell-level studies
- striking heritable traits
- Can distinguish male and female, and sex chromosomes
- Sex-linked: “white eye” mutation – found in males only, therefore on the Y
chromosome
- Many identifible mutations; can be seen by eye or with a low-power microscope -
Brown eyes and black cuticle
- Wild type eyes and yellow cuticle
- Cinnabar eyes and wild type cuticle
- Sepia eyes and ebony cuticle
Honeypot ants
- Store there food in their bodies, rather than in a hive (like bees)
- have workers that store food in their abdomens, and regurgitate it when needed by
other workers, who signal by stroking their antennae

Leaf-cutting ants
- Atta colombica
- fungus-growing ants that share the behaviour of cutting leaves which they carry back to
their nests to farm fungus
- Ants break down the leaves and farm the fungus, which is their food
Model organism
- Usually organisms that are easy to maintain; the fruit fly was easy to maintain due to the
indiscriminant mating and cost effective foods they consume
Mutation
- A change in the DNA sequence of a cell
 - Can be harmful, beneficial, or have no effect at all
- The fruit fly has many identifiable mutations; typically sex-linked, but not having any
effect
Necrophage
- Flies and beetles; first species to arrive on scene and feed on the remains
- Calliphoridae (Blow flies), Muscidae (House flies), Sarcophagidae (Flesh flies), Piophilidae
(Skipper flies), Silphidae – (Carrion beetles), Staphylinidae (Rove beetles), Histeridae
(Clown beetles)

Pheromones
- chemical signals produced by insects that trigger specific behavioral responses in others of
the same species. Used for communication purposes, such as mating, foraging, and
defense

Royal jelly
- Affects DNA expression
- Only fed to the queen her entire life

Sericin
- protein that allows the filaments in the cocoon to stick together and results in different
colours of natural silk – fibres are white after the sericin is washed away
- Added to creams; naturally resistant to infections; naturally hydrophyllic
Sex chromosome
- Chromosome that determines the sex of an organism

Spermatheca
- Queens mate during swarming
- Stores semen in here
- A small portion of their abdomen
Spinneret
- Silk-producing organ, in the silk moths head
Stages of decomposition
- 5 stages
 - <3 days; fresh
- 3-5 days; bloat
- 8-10 days; active decay
- 2-3 weeks; advanced decay
- Weeks-years; dry remains
Sternal gland
- On abdomen; releases trail-following pheromone when food sources are found
Swarm intelligence
- Simple steps repeated by individuals
Trophallaxis
- workers feed nymphs their partly digested cellulose
Varroa destructor
- Mite
- Life cycle takes place inside a bee colony
- Weakens bees (feeds off of their fat tissue), carries viruses
Waggle dance
- Done by social bees
- Direction of dance: direction of food source
- Duration: how far away
- Repetition: how good the source is
- Vertical orientation: Direction relative to the sun or Earth’s magnetic field
1. What are the main parts of the insect body structure, including the
appendages?
● Head
○ Mandibles: a pair of appendages near the mouth. It is used to grasp, crush, or cut
the insects’ food. Also used for defense
○ Ommatidia: what makes up compound eyes (retinal units).
○ Mouthparts:
Chewing mouthparts: Found in beetles, grasshoppers, and other herbivores.
Siphoning mouthparts: Found in butterflies and moths for feeding on nectar.
Piercing-sucking mouthparts: Found in mosquitoes, fleas, and other bloodsuckers.
Lapping mouthparts: Found in flies, which are adapted for feeding on liquids.
Proboscis: sucking food, tube-like
● Thorax
○ Prothorax: The first segment of the thorax, usually bearing the first pair of legs.
○ Mesothorax: The middle segment, often bearing the second pair of legs and
sometimes the first pair of wings.
○ Metathorax: The third segment typically bears the third pair of legs and the second
pair of wings.
○ Notum: hard dorsal exterior
○ Pronotum: front part of thorax

● Abdomen
○ Ovipositor: specialized structure, often found at the back of the abdomen, used
for laying eggs.
○ Cerci: paired appendages on the abdomen. Used as a sensory and/or defense
functions.
Spiracles: These are small openings along the sides of the abdomen that allow
air to enter the insect's tracheal system, facilitating respiration.
2. What is the difference between simple and complete metamorphosis? Give
examples of species in each case.
3. Consider the examples discussed in class showing social insect behaviour. How
are castes involved in enabling the survival of the community of insects? Consider
specific examples of behaviours described in class: for example, those seen in
colonies of Leafcutter ants, aphid farming ants, honeybees, termites. Describe
examples of how we viewed ants in the 19th century, 20th century and 21st century.
How have ants been a model for human social organization and technology?
(There was a documentary film in Week 8 that will be helpful).
4. How can our knowledge of insects help us determine the time of death of a
body during a forensic investigation? What are some examples of relevant
species? What information do we need to know about those species during an
investigation. What environmental factors are important and why? What
limitations are there for the calculation of time of death using forensic
entomology?
5. How is silk fabric obtained from silk moths? Describe the nature of the silk
fibre. Why are engineers interested in the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle? What
makes Drosophila melanogaster a model organism for genetic experiments,
and why is their use in laboratories being promoted in some African countries
today?
6. What are some arguments for promoting the eating of insects? What are some
challenges to this position, and what is an alternative?
7. Describe some examples of how insects have inspired art and cultural practices.
What features of the insect were notable to cultural groups? What are some
examples of how sound production and other features of an insect that have
influenced music.