Preamble:
Insects are the most abundant species of organisms we know, and they are distributed in every corner of the earth and are among the most massive species on the planet. In our daily life, insects are also one of the creatures that can be seen everywhere, whether it is in the grass in the suburbs or in the corners of the city, insects are inseparable. The main reason why insects can survive and reproduce on earth is because they have a variety of forms and unique hunting skills, which are unmatched by other organisms. However, despite the high numbers of insects on Earth, they are not able to become large organisms, mainly because the physiology, evolution, and biological structure of insects are very different from those of other large organisms, which limits their size. So, what is the reason why insects are unable to grow in size?
1. The neural structure of insects causes them to move slowly
We all know that in order to survive on the earth, a creature must act quickly, and for insects, their neural structure determines that their action must be slower than other organisms, this is mainly because the neural structure of insects is very different from that of vertebrates, there is something called myelin in the neural structure of vertebrates, which can transmit electrical signals, so that vertebrates will act very fast, and for insects, there is no myelin in their neural structure, but directly transmit electrical signals, so that when the size of insects is getting bigger and biggerIts neural pathways will also grow with the growth of the body, which causes its nerve conduction speed to slow down, so the inability of insects to increase in size is limited by the neural structure to a certain extent.
Second, the respiratory system of insects limits their size to increase
In addition to the nervous structure, the respiratory system of insects also limits its size increase, we all know that no matter what kind of organism, if its size wants to increase, it must be inseparable from oxygen, and for insects, they are through the stomata to inhale air, and then blood oxygen balance, but when the size of the insect increases, its stomata and growth rate do not keep up with the changes in the body, so when the size of the insect becomes larger, its stomata will become very small, so that the insect needs to spend more time to complete a breath, and the gas can not smoothly enter the insect's bodyAs a result, the insect will have the problem of hypoxia, so the respiratory system of the insect is also unable to adapt to the large body.
3. The musculoskeletal strength of insects limits their size increase
In addition to the nervous structure and respiratory system, the musculoskeletal strength of the insect also limits its size increase, we all know that in order for the size of a creature to increase, its bones and muscles must be able to support, otherwise there will be a situation of inability to move, and according to the square-cube law, when the size of an organism increases, its muscle cross-section and mass will increase in different proportions, so that when the size of the insect becomes larger, its muscle cross-section and mass will become very large, so that it cannot support its body, when the strength of the muscles can not support the body, the insect will have immobility, and even unable to move, so the musculoskeletal strength of insects is not suitable for large bodies.
IV. Conclusion
To sum up the above, it can be seen that the reason why insects cannot become large creatures is mainly because their nervous structure, respiratory system and musculoskeletal strength are very different from large organisms, which limits their size increase, but although the size of insects can not be increased, but their survival time on the earth is very long, it can be said that it is very tenacious, I believe that in the coming days, insects will definitely bring us a lot of surprises.