Date
Spring 4-2015
Document Type
Poster Session
Department
Environmental Science
Advisor
Joseph K. Staples
Keywords
Holarcti Insect Species, Cocoons, water vapor uptake, Pine Sawfly
Abstract
For many Holarctic insect species, overwintering in a tightly spun cocoon provides protection against predators and pathogens, physical damage, and extreme fluctuations in environmental conditions. Research with insect cocoons has shown that the physical properties of the cocoon wall play an important role in regulating the diffusion of water vapor and respiratory gases. In an attempt to better understand properties of water vapor diffusion across the cocoon wall, we measured relative amounts of water uptake or loss in overwintering cocoons of the Introduced Pine Sawfly (Diprion similis (Hartig)) in Maine. We also characterized the relative density of silk fibers arranged along the interior and exterior cocoon wall.
Start Date
April 2015
Recommended Citation
Henderson, Elizabeth, "Water vapor Uptake Across the Cocoon Wall of the introduced Pine Sawfly Diprion similis (Hartig) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae" (2015). Thinking Matters Symposium Archive. 35.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/thinking_matters/35
