BRAINCAKEGas Exchange in Insects
Insects are small, so they have a large surface area to volume ratio. However, they cannot exchange gases across their body surface. Their body is covered by an exoskeleton with a waxy cuticle that is almost impermeable to water and gases. This waterproofing is essential, because a small land animal with a large surface area would otherwise lose water very quickly by evaporation.
Insects therefore face a trade-off: they need to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the air, but every surface that is permeable to gases is also a surface through which water vapour can escape.
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All 23 lessons in Gas Exchange · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics