Unique breathing cycles may be an important defense for insects
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - 16:21
in Biology & Nature
Insects exhibit breathing patterns called discontinuous gas-exchange cycles that include periods of little to no release of carbon dioxide to the environment. Researchers who studied the respiratory patterns of 15 species of ground beetles found that these cycles may minimize the risk of infestation of an insect's tracheal system by mites and other pathogens.