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Post by mothman27 on Jan 24, 2022 15:49:59 GMT -8
Hello all,
I am in the process of choosing a research project for my capstone college course and I am looking for suggestions.
The idea I am tossing around is to do something with insects and bacteria (I know that's insanely broad). Other than that I need to get a specific idea. Simple is better. I'm trying to find a concept that is somehow useful or relevant rather than just a random hypothesis test, if possible. I have access to labs to work with bacteria. I also have an insect collection. Is there a way to utilize my collection and still connect it to bacteria? I don't know. It could also involve collecting insects but again, it would need to be fairly simple because right now there is snow on the ground. I'm open to suggestions of any type and looking for input.
Thanks!
Tim
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Post by trehopr1 on Jan 24, 2022 17:33:21 GMT -8
Hello Tim,
I'm going to take a stab at some ideas I have involving insects and bacteria. I just hope my thoughts don't sound like some crockery or as though I have been drinking from the beer bottle.
Anyway, three kinds of insects come to mind when I think of the bacteria associated with them. They are flies, cockroaches, and brown stink bugs.
Flies of course leave behind bacteria on their fly vomit which they leave on the bread of your sandwich. Cockroaches leave behind fecal droplets on a variety of surfaces in an apartment with a bad roach problem. The brown stink bugs which are common in our region and (usually get into your home in the fall) have bacteria and enzymes in their bite which they use to liquefy the insides of prey.
Perhaps using any one of these in your project will help to get you high marks. House flies can be found even at this time of year hiding away in sheds, garages, or barns out of the cold.
The browns stink bugs will get into your home and it's not unusual to find them here and there throughout the winter just walking about in your home. Perhaps you could live capture one and put it in a jar with a cricket or two from a pet store.
As for cockroaches, all you would need to do is contact a local pest service and ask them if perhaps you could do a ride along with one of their technicians to a particularly bad apartment complex (known for roaches). Once you enter said apartment, just open some cupboards and look for the telltale black fecal droppings which look like the black freckles. Then take a sample wipe of it and you will have something to start a culture with.
If you could get samples of any of these associated bacteria you could grow it in a culture in the lab and relate it to the insect.
I do know for a fact that excessive roach droppings in an environment are unhealthy for respiratory reasons. Much like mold can be very bad for you if it is excessive and contained within a given living space.
Just my thoughts here. Don't know exactly if this is what you are looking for but, my ideas are of the best intentions...
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Post by trehopr1 on Jan 24, 2022 19:37:49 GMT -8
Hey tim, I just had another idea for a candidate insect. How about the Asian ladybird beetle?
If you can live capture a couple you could bother them and they will exude some very distasteful fluid which you could then put into a culture.
This fluid not only has an odor but, it has some properties about it which act as an irritant to the skin if it gets on you.
Again, just another example of bacteria-insect association.
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Post by exoticimports on Jan 25, 2022 5:19:33 GMT -8
What bacteria exist in dead insects? Are we importing potentially new/ dangerous bacteria with dead insects? Are dead insects dangerous to handle, and if potentially so are there any actual cases of transmission to humans? To the environment?
Chuck
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Post by Adam Cotton on Jan 25, 2022 7:32:31 GMT -8
As far as I know bacteria which normally live in/on dead insects can rarely infect live mammals such as humans, unless they cause "stomach problems" if we eat them.
Probably the bacteria which are found in dead insects are pretty ubiquitous anyway so it is unlikely that importing dead insects would bring in many new bacteria, perhaps only different strains of the same bacteria. This should particularly be the case for dried specimens which would not have many active bacteria inside. Rotten insects would certainly be another matter.
Adam.
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Post by exoticimports on Jan 25, 2022 7:57:23 GMT -8
As far as I know bacteria which normally live in/on dead insects can rarely infect live mammals such as humans, unless they cause "stomach problems" if we eat them. Probably the bacteria which are found in dead insects are pretty ubiquitous anyway so it is unlikely that importing dead insects would bring in many new bacteria, perhaps only different strains of the same bacteria. This should particularly be the case for dried specimens which would not have many active bacteria inside. Rotten insects would certainly be another matter. Adam. Given that if there a case of some transfer from a dead bug, it would be on CNN for a week and CDC would be all over it. That said Adam, I do note "probably", "unlikely", "perhaps". ;-) I'm unaware of anyone who has actually analyzed the bacteria on/in dried/rotting insects. I do know I don't lick my fingers after handling them. Perhaps a formal study would be of interest, heck I'd read it. And I do like the subject matter. I convinced my MBA class to do a complete business case for Onithoptera farming in Solomon Islands. Kill two birds with one stone, AND I got to farm out (no pun intended) a good chunk of the analytical work. Chuck |
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