Manduca Caterpillar Growth Experiment
Written by: Dr. Biology

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Manduca: a large moth. It is commonly used in scientific experiments because it is easy to take care of and grows quickly.

Organism: a living thing that can be small like bacteria or large like an elephant.

Global climate change is something that you have probably heard about. The temperature on Earth is always changing - it changes daily, seasonally, and over longer time scales, and it impacts not only the weather on Earth, but the climate as well.

Dr. Biology thinkingScientists want to know how these changes are going to affect life on earth. How will organisms and communities respond to these changes? Will changes in temperature cause these animals to shrink or get larger and even become GIANTS?

To study how temperature can affect how an animal grows, Dr. Biology has teamed up with the scientists in the laboratory of Dr.’s Jon Harrison and John VandenBrooks. Together, they started an experiment to see how warm and cool environments affect the growth of the Manduca caterpillar. In the end, you may find that some of these Manduca become GIANTS. Think you know which ones they are? Explore what the scientists found in their lab, or do it yourself! Click now to Enter the Lab.

 To learn more about different kinds of insects, visit Big, BIG Bugs, True Bugs and Metamorphosis, Nature's Ultimate Transformers.This section of Ask A Biologist was funded by NSF Grant Award number 0746352. Credits

What's a manduca? Enter the Lab for teachers
Backstory    Enter the Lab For Teachers

To learn more about different kinds of insects, visit Big, BIG Bugs, True Bugs and Metamorphosis, Nature's Ultimate Transformers.


This section of Ask A Biologist was funded by NSF Grant Award number 0746352. Credits

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Bibliographic details:

  • Article: Manduca Caterpillar Growth Experiment
  • Author(s): Dr. Biology
  • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
  • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
  • Date published: January 27, 2012
  • Date accessed: March 6, 2024
  • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/manduca

APA Style

Dr. Biology. (2012, January 27). Manduca Caterpillar Growth Experiment. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved March 6, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/manduca

American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Chicago Manual of Style

Dr. Biology. "Manduca Caterpillar Growth Experiment". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 27 January, 2012. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/manduca

MLA 2017 Style

Dr. Biology. "Manduca Caterpillar Growth Experiment". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 27 Jan 2012. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 6 Mar 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/experiments/manduca

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
Manduca Caterpillar

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