Air goes straight to insect cells.
How does an insect deliver air without lung blood?
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How does an insect deliver air without lung blood?
Fit the specimen and set conditions before running.
A valve opens into tracheal tubes that branch directly toward tissue. Diffusion follows a gas gradient, while longer paths impede supply and an open pore also loses water.
One passive air-filled segment: Fick flux D A ΔC/L, D=2×10⁻⁵ m²/s, air molar density=40 mol/m³. Water vapor uses illustrative saturation 0.9 mol/m³. Active ventilation omitted; oxygen does not travel in hemolymph.
Supply more than 2 pmol/s of oxygen by passive diffusion.
Deliver oxygen directly toward tissue through tracheoles.