Question

Beetles A farmer sprays his corn field with pesticide to get rid of beetles. It is successful and the beetles appear to be gone. The next year, he sprays his field again. This time he notices that a few beetles are in the field, but not enough to ruin his crops. During the third year, he sprays the pesticide again, but this time hundreds of beetles still exist and his crop is ruined. 1. After the farmer sprayed during the first year, what actually happened to most of the beetles? 2. Why did some beetles live the second year? What was different about them? 3. How is this scenario an example of natural selection? Be specific. 4. What do you think the farmer will do during the fourth year?​

Answer 1

1. After the farmer sprayed during the first year, most of the beetles died due to the pesticide.

2. Some beetles survived the second year because they had a natural resistance to the pesticide. This resistance was likely due to genetic mutations that allowed them to survive and reproduce in the presence of the pesticide.

3. This scenario is an example of natural selection because the beetles with a natural resistance to the pesticide were more likely to survive and reproduce, while the beetles without resistance were more likely to die. This resulted in a population of beetles with a higher prevalence of the gene for pesticide resistance.

4. The farmer will likely spray the pesticide again during the fourth year, but will also look into alternative methods of pest control such as planting certain plants that repel beetles, introducing predators that feed on beetles, or using biological control methods such as releasing certain parasites or fungi that feed on the beetles.