Lack of oxygen causes the cause of caterpillars

2011/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

Caterpillars innovate four or five times their exoskeleton before becoming a butterfly. But how do you know when it's time to do it? Duke University researchers have clarified that this moment is determined by the lack of oxygen.

In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers measured the respiratory tract of Manduca sixth caterpillars saw that the respiratory apparatus of caterpillars has a fixed size in each phase of development of the crop. That is, the rest of the body of caterpillars grow, but not the respiratory system. As a result, over time the insect has an oxygen level too low to live on, and the only way to modify it is to renew the exoskeleton.