Page 133 - Engineering in Nature

Harun Yahya

Cuculinae winter moth Abdomen Chest
Chest Temperature
Regulator (Aorta)
Ear
Heart

Kesecikleri
Hava

Abdominal temperature regulator

Sphinx moth Abdomen Chest

Aorta
Cooling cycle
Heart

Air sacs

A winter moth (top) is different from a summer moth (bottom). The differences allow
the winter moth to survive even in exceedingly cold temperatures. The winter moth's
air sacs insulate and protect its chest region, while the design ofthe insect's circulatory
system also conserves the heat in the chest region. The black arrows show the direc-
tion in which the blood circulates. In all moths, blood flows through a single vein from
the stomach to the chest and from there to the head region. On its return, the blood is
filtered through the tissue. The winter moth's circulatory system contains an abdominal
and a chest heat counter-current heat exchanger. In the abdominal heat exchanger,
blood flowing between the heart and the aorta is cold (depicted in blue). Blood flowing
in the opposite direction in contiguous tissue is warmer (shown in red). In this way,
heat passes from the tissue to the vein, and from there to the chest (red arrows). The
heat exchanger in the chest is the aorta.

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