Many educators strongly feel that there is no substitute for the hands-on, learning experience of dissection. The learning that occurs in a dissection is qualitatively different from the learning that occurs in a lecture or paper-and-pencil setting. No model, no video, no diagram and no movie can duplicate the fascination, the sense of discovery, wonder and even awe that students feel when they find real structures in their own specimens. The researchers use grasshoppers because grasshoppers are complex insects and have many specifics when it comes to their body systems and functions.
Grasshoppers, like all insects, have a three-part body of a head, thorax, and abdomen. They also have compound eyes like other insects. However, their legs and wings set them apart from others because of the jumping legs as well as walking legs that they use and the layer of wings they use to fly. Their segmented bodies are made up of a hard exoskeleton of tagmata.
Procedure: o Head; holds most of the sensory organso Thorax; the body region behind the head, which bears the legs and wingso Abdomen; the posterior of the three main body divisions.
o Walking legs; attached to thorax and abdomen for movingo Spiracles; small dots along each side of abdomen small opening into elastic air tubes (tracheae)o crop; the dilated posterior portion of the foregut, which serves to receive and hold food prior to its slower passage through the rest of the digestive tracto Gastric ceca; the caeca is to break down food in the digestive system.
The caeca islocated near the rectum inside the bird. o Stomach; digests foodo Malpighian tubules; the excretory system is made up of numerous tiny tubules that empty excretory waste into anterior end of the intestine.o Forewing; helps its fly one set protects the othero Hind wing; the fanshapped membranoussecond pair of wings of grasshopperso Tympanic Membrane; Grasshoppers use their tympanic membranes to perceive airborne sounds from their environment Results: Discussion: In this section will mention the interior and exterior parts and their functions. Exterior:Grasshopper Anatomy Like all insects, the grasshoppers have three main body parts – the head, the thorax and the abdomen. They have six jointed legs, two pairs of wings and two antennae.
Their body is covered with a hard exoskeleton. Grasshoppers breathe through a series of holes called ‘spiracles’ which are located along the sides of the body. o Abdomen – the segmented tail area of a grasshopper, which contains the heart, reproductive organs, and most of the digestive system.o Antennae – like all insects, grasshoppers have 2 segmented antennae that sense touch and odours.o Compound eye – grasshoppers have 2 faceted eyes made up of many hexagonal lenses.o Head – the head is at the front end of the grasshoppers body and is the location of the brain, the two compound eyes, the mouth parts, and the points of attachment of its two antennae.o Jumping legs -the long, hindmost pair of the grasshoppers six legs.o Mandibles – the jaws, located near the tip of the head, by the palps; the jaws crush the food.o Palps – long, segmented mouth parts (under the jaws) that grasp the food.o Spiracles – a series of holes located along both sides of the abdomen; they are used for breathing.o Thorax – the middle area of the grasshoppersbody – where the legs and wings are attached.o Walking legs – the four, short front legs that are used for walking and holding prey while they eat.
o Wings – grasshoppers have two long wings which they use for flying.o Short-horned grasshoppers have ears in the sides of the abdomen.o Long-horned grasshoppers and crickets have ears in the knee-joints of their front legs.Interior:o Ovary – an egg producing organo Brain – anterior end of the central nervous systemo Ganglia – bundle of nerve cellso ventral nerve cord – carries nerve impulseso anus – external opening; end of digestive sustemo mouth – first part of digestive system that takes in foodo gizzard – grinds food with chittinous plateso midgut – insect’s stomach; where food is digestedo dorsal blood vessal – large blood vessal; dorsalo trachea – network of airtubeso oviduct – passageway for the eggso rectum – passageway for digested waste from the intestine to the anuso gastric ceca – pockets of the stomach that secrete enzymes that break down foodo salivary glands – produces saliva to moisten foodo hearts – pumps bloodo hind gut – recieves digested food from the midguto malpighian tubes – removes chemical waste from the bloodo crop – stores foodo intestine – transports waste through the digestive system from the hind gut to the rectumo esophagus – tube between mouth and cropMaterials: • forceps, scissors, gloves, dissecting pins, dissecting tray, and lab coat.