An Apparatus for Testing the Thermopreference of Insect

• Published in: Nihon Ōyō Dōbutsu Konchū Gakkai shi Vol. 3; no. 4; p. 239
• Main Authors: TAKAHASHI, Fumiki, FUJIMOTO, Keimei, MACHIDA, Akisato, KAWAHARA, Sachio, KARIYA, Hiromitsu, HÔKYÔ, Nobuhiko, KUNO, Eiji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Japan Science and Technology Agency 01.10.1959
• ISSN: 0021-4914; 1347-6068
• DOI: 10.1303/jjaez.3.239

Constructions of the apparatus used in some studies were reviewed and an improved apparatus was constructed for testing the thermopreference of insect which has comparatively large body size and high ability of movement (Figs. 3 and 4). The apparatus has a large box of insect container (Fig. 3A) which contacts with some brass pipes (B); one end of it is heated by electric coils (C) with bimetal thermostat (D), while another end is cooled with iced water (E). The water melted from ice in the ice box (E) runs in the pipes (B) from cooled end towards the hot end and then drains out (F). By setting up a watertank (G) with a ventilation pipe (H), the brass pipes (B) are filled up with water which is effective to stabilize the temperature in the insect container. Better result should be obtainable when water stream came round from cool end to hot end and then returned back. Instead of making returned stream, some parts of the coils for heating (C) were stretched at the middle portion of the apparatus. As shown in Fig. 5, the temperature gradient in this apparatus was nearly linear and the temperature at each point was maintained nearly constant for a long time.