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Neural control over some particular behaviors of Insect

    1. Detection of odor:

    Insects have scent detecting organs present in the antennae to detect or identify particular smell. Insects have olfactory sensilla, detecting chemical signals. Sense sensilla may also present on some other parts like mouth and genetal organs. Signals in the form of molecules get entered into the antennae through pores. For example: garlic smell has molecules of dimethyl sulphide in the air that get enter through these minute pores. Scent molecules are changed into electrical energy power source to be detected by deutocerebrum.

    1. Learning:

    In insects there are some structures that are concerned with learning procedure are called the mushroom bodies. In honeybees these mushroom bodies transfer the short term memory into long term memory. An insect has 100000-1000000 neurons.

    1. Sleeping in insects:

    Hardy said that insects do sleep. Insects usually become dormant or semi-dormant depending on the season. Mostly they become dormant in winter season. On daily basis it happens only in particular insects at night. They attain particular postures. For example: bees hold the green field’s leaves strongly with their anchoring jaws. Some insects return to one particular place every night.

    Sleeping improves two phenomena in insects:

    1. Energy conservation
    2. Memory development

    Insects check time by their navigation with sun. By doing this they assume either it is day or night.

    1. Insect’s emotions:

    This is hard to say either insects have emotion or not but some phenomena have been observed. For example: flies show fear behavior, bees show anger and woodlice become aggressive.

    1. Mating behavior:

    Mating behavior in insects is the result of juvenile hormone from the corpora allata.

    1. Do insects get hurt?

    No. insects have no nociceptors (receptors of pain).

    1. Detection of temperature and humidity:

    Insects show different behaviors at different temperatures and humidity levels, as both are inter linked. Insects detect any change in temperature and humidity by the thermo-hygroreceptors. (http://www.vliz.be/imis.php?refid=212638)

    Neurons and functional control of behavior:

    Neuron, a Greek word meaning tendon, thread, gall. Nervous system has a basic unit called axon. Electrical and chemical impulses are actively transferred through these axons. Vertebrate axon has a myelin sheath over it that regulates the speed of impulse but invertebrates have no myelin sheath over the axon. In invertebrates the diameter of the axon determines the speed of impulse as the diameter of axon and speed of impulse have a direct relation.

    Written by . Fazal Hussain, Urooj Naz, Amen Abbas, M.Nouman
    University College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha.

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