Entomology 108 - Spring 2009
Midterm Exam - Take Home
Due Monday, March 30, 2009
100 points
Answer 10 of the following 11 questions (each worth 10 points). You may answer an 11th question for up to 5 bonus points, and indicate your
bonus question (otherwise we will just use the last question on your exam, if
you answer all questions). Your answers should be written on a separate sheet of
paper and should be sufficiently long to provide a thoughtful discussion of the
question (I expect that about a paragraph would be appropriate for most
questions). Write in complete sentences, paragraphs, etc. Because
this is a take home exam you may use outside sources, such as your notes or
other references, but do not discuss the questions with your classmates and
properly cite any sources (but not my lecture notes). I am
most interested in your own thoughts and opinions (supported by evidence). Call
me if you have questions (402-560-6684).
Hints: My buddy Wyatt Hoback says "For essay exams, the answer should
always be longer than the questions." Good advice, in my opinion. Also, (1) know
what the question is asking (talk to me, if you don't), (2) be certain to answer
all of the question (many have more than one part), (3) focus on answering the
question, not on extraneous issues, and (4) always justify your answer.
The Prolog
Sure, there used to be days I didn't want to go into work, but my dream
sustained me. What is the point of life if there aren't hopes and dreams? You
can't teach or do research without knowing disappointment, and the derision of
my colleagues was to be expected. I knew that making a difference, realizing my
dream wouldn't be easy. But lately, I've become cynical -- I've started
feeling like a old cop who's seen too much crime. I have to give up or take a
chance. It's time to embrace risk, I'll share my vision with you.
Ever since I realized an uncaring world would never recognize my genius; ever
since I realized that I if couldn't be respected, then I must be feared; ever
since I mastered the maniacal laugh of the truly great scientists -- I have
dreamt that I would CONQUER AND ENSLAVE THE WORLD!!! What have I done wrong? I
have the lab, the expensive equipment, the arcane tomes, and the quirky
demeanor. But I don't have a henchman, Sheri is far too kind to do my evil
bidding. So in the guise
of an innocent class exam, perhaps I can find an obsequious toady to help
me realize my nefarious schemes...
The Job Application -- I Mean, Exam Questions
-
Red or white wine, Ginger or Mary Ann, steal nuclear weapons or threaten
global destruction from a satellite equipped with a city-destroying laser-- life is full of choices. I can't waste my genius with trivia, I need evil
employees who can make decisions. Of course, like all employers, I may have
to correct inappropriate employee choices (probably with electrocution
rather than immolation, I'm not a traditionalist), but watching minions try
to weasel out of my righteous justice can be fun. So, let's see how you do
with a true dilemma. What are the most important factors that have lead to
insects becoming the dominant land animals on Earth?
- Almost any twisted, embittered gnome can dig up graves, fetch brains,
and install detonators in stolen nuclear weapons. What I need in an
assistant is an understanding of nature at it's deepest levels, so I can get
good advice as I pervert the natural world to support my evil schemes. Show
me what you've got. Like most evil geniuses, I have little use for humans
(well, I may find some uses for them in the lab, torture chamber, or firing
range). But maybe I'm missing something about this sociality stuff. I note
that the social insects are the most successful insect group, and the ants
are the most successful social insects. Logically this makes the ants the
most successful insects. Why?
- As those pop philosophers, ZZ Top, pointed out "She's got legs, she
knows how to use them." Assuming I want to give my mutant human/insect
warriors insect appendages, they too will need to know "how to use them." So
what are the different types of major leg modifications among insects, and
what are they used for?
- Like most evil geniuses, I find myself drawn to the notion of giant
robots or giant ants or giant clowns or giant supermodels (I've been
watching America's Next Top Model this season) destroying city centers. But maybe I
need to think smaller, and make a mutant insect-sized army. What are the
ecological advantages associated with small size (say for terrestrial
organisms in the size range of insects)?
- Real estate is all about location, location, location. Sure I could go
with the underground lair, the secret island laboratory, or the decaying
castle which villagers shun, but am I really going to be able to recover my
equity now the housing bubble has burst? Those obligatory self-destruct
systems don't come cheap. So I'm thinking a lab with a view is what's
required, nothing too fancy, just a small asteroid or orbiting satellite of
doom. As long as I'm planning to build my lair off planet (which is smart
for tax purposes as well as real estate value), why don't I use the reduced
gravity environment to my advantage. Yes, this is the "create giant insects"
question, I know you have been waiting for. Exactly how do I need to modify
insect physiology and morphology to create giant insects I can use to lay
waste to armies, terrorize vast human populations, and sell on eBay? Let's
look at roughly 3 meters high as a good target size.
- Does form really follow function? Does having a club leg or hunchback
really help you do your job as my evil minion, or does it just save me money
on employee health insurance (given that my employee's all have pre-existing
conditions and are therefore uninsurable)? As my evil employee I will look
to you to help me decide questions like whether or not my robot really needs
four laser cannons, or if I'm just trying to make him look a little more
butch. Consequently, your understanding of natural morphology is a crucial
job requirement. So, to test you on this point, tell me why insects look as
they do (what is the purpose or explanation behind key insect features)?
- Any entomologist worth his salt knows that
without insects global ecosystems will collapse and human civilization will
likely collapse with them. So holding the world for ransom under the threat
of killing all the world's insects seems like a reasonable ploy. How should
I do it? Order 8 billion bug zappers?
No, too bright, we won't be able to steal bodies from graveyards with all
that light. Cover the globe with insect "fumigant"? No, too smelly
and it would violate EPA air quality standards. I know, I'll
block some insect sensory system (hearing, vision, chemoreception, touch) to
prevent kinky insect mating (and let's face it, ALL insect mating is kinky).
But which system should I target? Let's pick the most important. So,
which insect sensory system is most important for successful mating and why?
- If I am unable to kill all the world's insects, perhaps I can use them.
Maybe I could flood the human food supply with insect parts, causing the FDA
or USDA to condemn hundreds of tons of potential human food. But before I
undertake such an activity, I should know more about how this food
contamination business works. What is the basis for regulations on allowable
insects parts in processed food?
- Assuming I am able to rear vast insect armies to serve my [evil] will
and subjugate humanity, I suppose I'd better be able to communicate with the
little beggars (note that when I write "...I am able to rear..." I naturally
mean my evil minions will rear). I mostly use sound or sound-related
mechanisms for communication, but I am informed this is not the best option
for trying to give insect armies their marching orders. If you are going to
work for me (and by "work for me" of course I mean blindly follow my every
whim) I expect answers to my questions. How do insects make sounds for
communication, and why isn't sound a more important form of communication
among insects?
- The memories haunt me, to this very day...first, I had to buy my own Special K®
(with dehydrated strawberries)
breakfast cereal, because Phyllis says I didn't write it on "The List."
Then, I tried have a bowl of my Special K®
(with dehydrated strawberries) breakfast cereal and what did
I find? A half eaten box and NO STRAWBERRIES! Can anyone (even lesser beings
such as yourselves) appreciate the depth of my pain and anguish? Now do you
begin to understand why I must embark on a journey of global destruction
that puts the very survival of human civilization at risk?
Who ate my cereal and took my strawberries? I think we all know the answer
to that question: one of the ravenous nymphal Higleys, either Cameron or
Addison. Of course they deserve a long, lingering fate-worse-than-death for
this transgression, but they each have half of my genes. How can I torture
half of myself? I need to look to you and to my insect brethren for
solutions to this problem. How do insects avoid competition between adults
and immatures?
- Like most evil scientists, I rarely pay scale but the job benefits (not
being killed when I take over the Earth) are considerable. Naturally, I am
an efficiency guru, but I find that one can only whip one's slaves, opps I
mean minions, so long before the dreaded "flayer's elbow" sets in. I am told
that insects can run, fly, or fight without ever being out of breath (or put
more scientifically, without ever suffering an oxygen deficit). How is this
possible, and can I use it to genetically modify cannon fodder, I mean
highly qualified evil laboratory technicians, such as yourself?
Note
Although evil minions naturally live or die at the whim of their "master",
the employer of record is: Scientists Trying to Instigate Nefarious Goals
(STING), a privately held, limited liability corporation. Besides passing the
employment test, candidates for evil minion should be cloyingly obsequious, laugh
menacingly, have a physical deformity (or be willing to get one), and be willing to (legally) change name to Igor or Igoretta
(STING is an equal opportunity employer). Must have experience in mutating
organisms with toxic waste, developing monsters through genetic engineering, or
have taken Entomology 108. Candidates also will be accepted for Bavarianesque
lab assistant, but must look like a 25-year-old Teri Garr. Salary and benefits negotiable.
Addendum: The Boring, Soul-Destroying Version of the Exam
- What are the most important factors that have lead to insects becoming
the dominant land animals on Earth?
- Why are ants the most successful insect group?
- How are insect legs modified for different functions?
- What are the ecological advantages associated with small size (say for
terrestrial organisms in the size range of insects)?
- In a low gravity environment, how would I need to modify insect
physiology and morphology to create giant insects (ca. 3 meters tall).
- Why do insects look as they do (what is the purpose or explanation
behind key insect features)?
- Which insect sensory system is most
important for successful mating and why?
- What is the basis for regulations on allowable insects parts in
processed food?
- How do insects make sounds for communication, and why isn't sound a more
important form of communication among insects?
- How do insects avoid competition between adults and immatures?
- How are insects able to not suffer oxygen deficits when running or when
engaged in similar activities, and why can or can't humans use the same
mechanism?.
