bjones
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No. Insects do not get overweight. This is due to a couple of factors which make insects different from mammals and many other types of animals. First of all, insects don’t have skeletons like we do. Our skeletons are on the inside of our bodies. The outside of our bodies are covered in skin. Skin is constantly reproducing and has elasticity, so it can adapt and expand if we gain excess amounts of muscle or fat. Insects have exoskeletons. Exoskeletons are skeletons on the outside of the body. Exoskeletons are rigid, not soft like skin. If adult insects begin to eat too much, nerves are triggered in their stomachs that tell them to stop so they never eat enough for fat to build up. Some insects can overeat in one sitting, like mosquitoes. Sometimes insects eat a lot all at once. This makes them bloated, but as soon as their body processes the food, they return to normal weight. Scientists have found that if they disconnect the nerve that tells insects to stop eating, they will continue to eat until so much pressure builds up that their innards rupture their exoskeleton and explode outward, killing them.
Scientists have also uncovered another interesting fact. Insects begin their lives as larvae. Larvae are soft, worm-like forms. Caterpillars are a type of larvae. If larvae overeat, their metabolism automatically speeds up to burn the excess calories without the larvae having to do any extra exercise. Scientists are trying to find out what makes their bodies do this in hopes that it can somehow be adapted for use in people. Wouldn’t that be great to eat all you want while staying healthy and thin? If we can find the secret of insect larvae, one day this may be a possibility.
 Posted 5356 day ago
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