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Idolomantis diabolica

also known as 

The Devils Flower Mantis

Phylum: Insecta

Class: Arthropoda

Body Structure:-Females have six segmented abdomens while males have 8.

-The Thorax is elongated which creates a distinct neck.

-The ear is located in a slit in the thorax which is capable of hearing ultrasonic sound.

-The abdomens supports the wings and hind legs of the Mantis (covered in hard exoskeleton)

-Front legs are modified as for grabbing and holding prey.

-Back legs are for walking, balance, and propelling forward at fast speed.

-Two antennae sit on top to help Mantis search for food.

-Head capable of rotating 360 degrees.

-Large compound eyes which move at 180 degrees(colours and images)

-three simple eyes in between the compound eyes (light and dark)

The species Idolomantis diabolica however  is distinguished by its bright green wing case and its largely colored ocellus

Digestion/Excretion: -Digestive system is located in the abdomen.

-Feed on houseflies, moths, butterflies, beetles, lacewings, and other flying insects that are available.  They will not feed on ground dwellers such as crickets, locusts, or meal worms.

-excrete through malpighian tubules and anus.-Malphghian tubules are the primary source of nitrogenous excretion

-Enzymes convert NH3 ions into harmless uric acid, the acid then moves to the rectum and water is absorbed and excreted,

Circulatory System/Respiration:-Open circulatory system

-No lungs

-Tracheae (highly branched network of internal tubes) deliver oxygen to tissues.

-Circulatory system transport nutrients and waste in fluid hemolymph.

Movement: -Wings

-walks with 4 out of 6 legs.

-adult females cannot fly because of the weight of undeveloped eggs that she has to carry.

Defence Mechanisms: -When threatened the Mantis stands tall while spreading out its forelegs and fanning out its wings to make it seem bigger.

-They have one ear for the purpose of detecting bats (which are their primary predators)

Reproduction: After sexual fertilization the female mantis constructs a frothy substance called a ootheca (egg case) which contains many eggs.   

                                                        

Other notes

bilaterally symmetrical

and

contain three germ layers!

(epiderm, mesoderm, endoderm)

The Devils Flower Mantis are important because they are good garden predators.  They kill insects that are harmful as well as insects that are beneficial.  The difference between a Devils Flower Mantis and a traditional Mantodea are the food it eats and the appearance.  

The reason why I like the order Mantodea is because they are one of the most deadly predatory insects with a cool hunting (praying) stance.  I chose the species Devils Flower Mantis because of their beauty and size.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4enilF4pEko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A6kC4BGkA8

Squid dissection

The Purpose and goals of this dissection is to closely examine the anatomy of a squid.  This dissection relates to what i am learning in class because visually, it shows me up close where the body parts are supposed to be placed.  I thought the ink sac would be exposed with the ventral side up but it turns out that it is actually hidden in between the stomach.  Overall this lab has definitely been helpful to my understanding of a squid.  However i don't think i will be eating squid anytime soon now that i know what i have actually been eating.  The only exception is calamari.


External Anatomy questions

1. A squid has eight arms and two tentacles

2. The tentacles are used to pull an organism in the arm so that the arms are able to pull it inside its radial or beak.

3.

The black lines indicate the direction that the water comes out of the funnel and the direction that the squid moves.

4. Two external features that are adaptations for the squid's predatory life are the suction cups and the fins. The suction cup allows the squid to stick onto surfaces and help catch prey easier while the fins help it to smoothly cut through water which allows better movement.

5. Two traits that the squid share with mollusks are the tentacle and the presence of a mantle.


Internal Anatomy questions

1. A squid has 4 gills.  Two on the left and two on the right.

2. The ink sac empties through the siphon and its functions are to blind and disable a predator.  It is mostly used as a form a defense.

3. The function of the pen serves as the support of the squid's mantle and a site of muscle attachment.  Without the pen the squid wouldn't have the support to keep its normal shape.

4. The waste exits through the anus of the squid which is located at the middle of the body.

A picture of what a squid's internal anatomy may look like.

Fungus Trip

 Last Friday my class and I went toe the trail near our school to examine many forms of fungi. During the Fungi trip, I encountered many forms of fungi such as the club fungi which consists of rusts, toadstools, puffballs, bracket fungus, and jelly fungus.  The pictures below are not the identical ones that i encountered at school but are a visual example of what i saw.  The purpose of this trip was to expose our class the abundance of fungi in the forest.  At first i thought that i wouldn't find a single form of fungi but it turns out i was wrong.  Every Tree, and every leaf had some kind of fungi growing on it and i found this to be really cool.  What i learned in class was that Fungi spores could grow anywhere as long as the conditions are right. This is true in the forest because it is both warm and moist normally and those are the conditions that are needed to grow fungi.  Overall this experience was pretty interesting and refreshing.