Ecosystem dynamics and interrelationships

The temperature and light display are able to affect the way are insects grow and have grown. The temperature varied but was never below 20°C or above 30°C, on average it was 22.6°C inside the enclosure. Outside the enclosure, the average temperature was 24°C. A high temperature can overheat the insects and dehydrated the eucalyptus leaves. If it was low temperature, they would freeze to death. The light exposure varied but on average was 68 LUX. Light enables plants to grow and reproduce. It also gives organisms metabolism. The light exposure can also change their habits and colour of their bodies.

Cleaning our enclosure and changing the leaves each week was to avoid having a buildup of bacteria so that these germs do not build up and infect our insects. When picking the leaves, we have to consider the length of the branch, the freshness of it, and any bugs and threats hanging around. For example, when we were cleaning our enclosure one week we found 2 dead insects and white egg sacks (from spiders eggs) on the leaves which we assumed could have been the reason those insects died. Changing the leaves to give them a healthy fresh bunch of leaves to feed off and spraying the leaves to keep them hydrated. Although changing their leaves and cleaning their enclosure was positive but also negatively affected the insects as they seemed distressed at having to be handled and moved from one place to another, a sign of distress that we noticed was them excreting profusely when being held, or trying to fly away when being moved and hiding under tables or somewhere out of reach. Other bugs like spiders are found on branches, so when we choose the leaves we have to shake and carefully insect to ensure that there is no bugs or eggs that may affect, infect or kill our insects.