These are the procedures that I performed when sorting the bugs by gender:
#1 Transfer all bugs into a large plastic transparent container
#2 Gently use paint brush to remove the bugs one by one onto petri dish
#3 Flip the bug upside down on petri dish
#4 Place petri dish under microscope
#5 Observe carefully under bright light
#6 Wait until bug is still on the dish
#7 Focus on the hing legs part of the bug
#8 Place the bug into the tank (either male or female) that I have prepared earlier
#9 Mark down number of bug(s) in each tank
#10 Repeat procedure 1-10 until all bugs are sorted
The process took more than two hours but it was rewarding. In the end, I sorted 11 males and 34 females. It is definitely a great start to the project!
This is the setup...notice the bug in the petri dish!
You must be really careful when differentiating the pill bugs under the microscope then! It seems impossible that a female pregnant pillbug could hold up to 200 eggs in a brood pouch! No wonder it will make a bulge!
ReplyDeleteNice feedback, Annie.
DeleteHey Beatrice it's Kara! I really loved reading your posts about what you have been doing. I think its cool that you were able to choose a topic that you were interested in. It was also cool to read about animal behaviors and other things that we have both done in AP Bio already. This post in particular stuck out to me because I've done a little insect sorting myself during my internship. Instead of sorting male or female though, we sorted based on family. I also love that you included a picture! I was wondering, how do you know if the pill bug is male or female? I remember the fly lab in bio and wasn't sure if they same guidelines apply or if there are different ways of knowing.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Kara
Good comment, Kara. I Like the connection with your own internship!
ReplyDelete