With this warm weather we are all at home We must have thrown away at least one bug right? What would we do if they weren’t so small?

They would probably eat us, but fortunately that is not possible. We say that this is not possible because Insects cannot grow as large as we do. Really why?

In the past, especially during the Permian period, there lived a giant dragonfly species called Meganeuropsis Permiana.

These dragonflies could reach a wingspan of 75 cm and a weight of 450 grams. However, nowadays Even large insects such as the Atlas moth It can’t be that big. There are several theories to understand why insects can’t reach these dimensions.

One theory is that insect exoskeletons are larger Their bodies are not strong enough to support direction. Arthropods that live in the sea can grow larger because the water supports the weight of their bodies.

But on land, for larger insects thicker exoskeletons would be needed. From Arizona State University, Dr. As Jon Harrison explains, this theory may not be entirely accurate, as larger arthropods would be expected to have thicker exoskeletons, but the data does not support this.

Does the respiratory system of insects hinder their growth?

Another theory is respiratory system of insects, that it stunts their growth. Unlike humans, insects receive oxygen through holes in the sides of their bodies.

Oxygen entering through these holes is carried through air-filled tubes called tracheoles. tubes, divides into very small branches and supplies each cell with oxygen. In larger insects, these tracheoles may not be able to transport enough oxygen.

One of the reasons insects used to be bigger was that oxygen level in the atmosphere It could be higher.

Dr. According to Harrison’s statements, the oxygen level in the atmosphere rose to 32% in the late Paleozoic. Today, this percentage is 21%. The high oxygen levels allowed insects to grow to larger sizes.

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