Alien Empire: Hardware/Replicators

  1. @ 75 % of all animal life is insects. There may be as many as 30 million species of insects. Insects are invertebrates with chitin exoskeletons. It is light weight , durable, and water proof. Some of the largest of the insects are Rhinoceros Beetles. Their horns as hard as ivory. Colors of Jewel Beetles and the wing scales of Morpho Butterfly wings are from refracted light.
  2. Insects have to molt to grow. They shed heir exoskeletons through a process called ecdysis. Insects breathe through openings called spiracles. Air is taken to body cells by a series of tubes called trachea. @ 350 million years ago the insects developed flight. They were the first animals to fly. Their wings are membranes supported by a network of veins.
  3. The rare Madagascar Moon Moth (Argema mittrei) has the longest tails of any insect species. Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) migrate thousands of miles. The wings are light and though seemingly fragile they are really quite strong. The most sophisticated flier is the common House Fly (Musca domestica) whose wings beat @ 500 times per second. Their hindwings are modified into balancing organs called halterae.
  4. Insects nervous systems are complex with individual nerve centers controlling the action of each leg. Tok Tok Beetles of Africa communicate with each other by taping the ground with their bodies. Honey Bees can learn and remember the position of food plants by orienting by way of the position of the sun.
  5. In July on the Mississippi River swarms of millions of mayflies emerge to mate and die during one day each year. Most insect produce hundreds of eggs and give no parental care. Eggs vary in size and shape and are distinct for each species. In one year the offspring of one pair of House Flies would produce a ball of maggots (larvae) the size of the earth.
  6. Cynthia Silk Moths (Platysamia cynthia) introduced into the United States from Asia for a possible source of silk use phermones to locate each other to mate. The females release these perfumes to attract males. The find each other at several miles distance. Polka Dot Moths from the southern USA and Florida use both scent and sound to attract mates.
  7. Leafhoppers use sound to communicate and pick up the sound vibrations through their feet. Katydids have ears located on the elbows of their front legs. Some insects are really loud. The Australian Double Drummer Cicada are the loudest.
  8. Mates are also attracted by appearance. Australian Jewel Beetle males are attracted by dimpled orange color and conformation. Beer bottles often confused them because of the color and dimpling of the bottles. The beer companies produced a different style bottle to preserve the species. Male were trying to mate with
    discarded beer bottles.
  9. Male Walnut Flies guard bruised areas on walnuts to attract females. The females have to have the bruised spots in which to lay their eggs. The males do mock combat with other males to defend their territories. They actually measure each other and the smallest loses.