Scientists at the University of Granada have found a curious secret of nature unknown so far: some aquatic insect larvae build shelters in the form of beads with small grains of sand or tiny stones to protect their delicate bodies
As reported by the University of Granada, at the time of “pupate” for metamorphosis, ie, to withdraw into a shell like a cocoon in which they pass the larval to adult, add extra grains of sand or small stones.
And strategically placed at the ends of the (either externally or internally) beads to balance the weight of the two halves with precision as if a perfect balance millimeter they were
Study:.
The study conducted shows that in order to balance the weight of these tiny beads, that the animals themselves constructed with particles substrate, is that these aquatic insects belonging to the order of caddisflies and especially Anitellaamelia species, are able to stand horizontally in the shallow banks of streams, which flow decreases much in late summer, so they can survive .
If you remain in vertical position, the probability of exposure to air would be very high and, therefore, the animal would die for drying.
For the study, led by Professor Department of Zoology, University of Granada Javier Alba-Tercedor, has been used a Skyscan 1172 microtomograph, which allows you to scan small animals at high resolution.
The results were presented at the Bruker Micro-CT Users Meeting, Congress microtomography world’s largest, recently held in Bruges (Belgium)
scan.
tomography is a noninvasive technique, well known by the scientific community for its wide use in medicine, giving great resolutions and, not alter the samples needed, facilitates study valuable specimens without damaging them.
The research team was studying Anitellaamelia, an aquatic insect whose adults have caddisflies order aspect of moth, with few people living in some waterways northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, when he discovered this curious phenomenon of nature.
Some of the pupation beads manufactured by insects called attention researchers to be double, ie two concentric beads, one inside the other.
The first images allowed to demonstrate this dual structure were observed but also the larvae before pupation, had placed grains . additional sand or gravel at the ends, either internally or externally, that appear in the images as if they were big rocks
The results confirmed the hypothesis: the weights of both halves of these aquatic insects They were exactly the same, thanks to the work of “rebalancing” that they made adding new substrate particles at the ends.
“Such a small larva, something more than a centimeter in length, is able to be an expert architect developed the beads, and then adding the exact number and size of grains on the ends to balance its weight as a balance, “notes the researcher
Source:. EFE
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