# Why bugs die when crushed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619 "2012-07-27T23:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/21 "2012-07-28T16:58:24Z")
[This one](http://www.offbeatearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/back.jpg) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/22 "2012-07-28T18:20:43Z")
Yeah, I’ll go with death by catastrophic trauma. The disconnection/interruption of the system parts knocks the life out of it. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/23 "2012-07-28T19:15:58Z")
If you squish the bug, it loses a lot of its fluids, and different usually separated fluids will mix with each other. The cells that were happily bathed in hemolymph are now bathed in a mix of rapidly dehydrating hemolymph, gut contents, lots of bacteria, and whatever else was on your shoe. In addition to nutrients and gas exchange, cells need to bathed in fluid with the correct pH and balance of electrolytes. Neurons, for example, won’t be able to “fire” if the extracellular fluid doesn’t have precisely the right levels of electrolytes. Or perhaps they’ll “fire” constantly, and the still-attached legs will twitch out of control. But if you’re careful, it’s not too difficult to dissect an insect and keep particular tissues and organs alive for a while. With a bit more care, you can culture certain types cells from an insect (or any other organism really) and they’ll grow indefinitely. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/24 "2012-07-28T19:42:16Z")
That really skeeved me, man. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/25 "2012-07-28T20:31:12Z")
> [@zfoltz](#): > > This seems like a simple question, why do bugs die when smashed, but I have been thinking for a while and searching no no avail. > > When a person’s head is cut off they die because the lack of oxygen through blood to the brain and severing of the central nervous system causes them to loose consciousness indefinitely. When a person drowns in water it is because a lack of oxygen circulating. When an insect; say an ant or fly is drowned it is because their tracheae are filled with water and all gaseous oxygen is used up. > > However when you crush an insect such as a fly it has no blood crying oxygen. When flies or other bugs are crushed they ooze out Hemolymph which is a fluid they use to transport nutrients, but if their cells can store nutrients why would they die instantly. > > I have also heard that the stomodaeal nervous system is what maintains most of their body functions, but even without those body functions wouldn’t the cells continue to live? Also if the brain were crushed and the nervous system was still intact would they be fine? > > I apologize if I worded that in a confusing way, or if I’m just not seeing the forest through the trees, but if anyone could clear this up for me it would be greatly appreciated! “Crushing” a bug effectively destroys the physical integrity of it’s nervous system and the various critical autonomic sub-systems and (least importantly) what passes for it’s “brain”. The fact that the cells in the insects body may still be full of potential chemical energy is kind of beside the point if the sensory, locomotion and nervous system wiring is destroyed. [see](http://insects.about.com/od/morphology/f/Do-Insects-Have-Brains.htm) > [@](#): > > The insect brain resides in the head, located dorsally. It consists of three pairs of lobes. These lobes are fused ganglia, clusters of neurons that process sensory information. Each lobe controls different activities or functions. > > The first lobe, called the protocerebrum, connects via nerves to the compound eyes and the ocelli. The protocerebrum controls sight. > > The middle lobe, the deutocerebrum, innervates the antennae. Through neural impulses from the antennae, the insect may collect odor and taste cues, tactile sensations, or even environmental information like temperature or humidity. > > The third lobe, the tritocerebrum, performs several functions. It connects to the labrum (an insect’s movable upper lip) and integrates sensory information from the other two brain lobes. The tritocerebrum also connects the brain to the stomodaeal nervous system, which functions separately to innervate most of the insect’s organs. > > Other ganglia throughout its body control most of the overt behaviors we observe in insects. Thoracic ganglia control locomotion, and abdominal ganglia control reproduction and other functions of the abdomen. The subesophageal ganglion, just below the brain, controls the mouthparts, salivary glands, and movements of the neck. > > The insect brain actually controls only a small subset of functions required for an insect to live. The stomodaeal nervous system and other ganglia can control most body functions independent of the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/26 "2012-07-28T20:42:36Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > That really skeeved me, man. I’m sure she didn’t mean to bug you. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/27 "2012-07-28T22:10:46Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [This one](http://www.offbeatearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/back.jpg) > > 😛 Ha…I was thinking more along the lines of the one Linus plays… ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/28 "2012-07-28T23:05:21Z")
The first two replies to a question shouldn’t be put downs/jokes. If the answer is obvious, then fight ignorance and give it without being a dick. Also, “wrecking their machinery” is a vague non-answer that clearly doesn’t address what the OP was asking. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/29 "2012-07-29T03:33:02Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > The first two replies to a question shouldn’t be put downs/jokes. If the answer is obvious, then fight ignorance and give it without being a dick. Also, “wrecking their machinery” is a vague non-answer that clearly doesn’t address what the OP was asking. [Moderating] This thread was actually started in MPSIMS, where General Questions standards don’t apply. In any case, if you have a problem with the replies of other posters, you should report them rather than taking it upon yourself to scold them, especially when you aren’t contributing any factual information yourself. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/30 "2012-07-29T15:24:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Moderating] > > This thread was actually started in MPSIMS, where General Questions standards don’t apply. > > In any case, if you have a problem with the replies of other posters, you should report them rather than taking it upon yourself to scold them, especially when you aren’t contributing any factual information yourself. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Ok, fair enough; I didn’t realize it had started out in MPSIMS. I think it would have been worthwhile though, to include a brief explanation to the OP as to why such responses were acceptable, instead of simply warning him for using the T word. It was a legitimate post that was clearly looking for a substantive answer and the OP seemed sincerely perplexed as to why posters were joking and ridiculing the question rather than attempting to answer it. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/31 "2012-07-30T09:04:40Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Ha…I was thinking more along the lines of the one Linus plays… Schroeder. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/32 "2012-07-30T10:33:38Z")
If one would simply remove the head or some other part, or maybe even a few parts, then I suppose that I would also wonder why it dies. But if we’re talking about **crushing** the thing, then I think this post is pretty obvious: > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > … if you crush an insect, you are typically doing a lot of damage. It’s not like you’re breaking just a leg or head, you’re breaking up most of their exoskeleton into pieces and mashing their internal organs. Pretty much nothing it has is going to work right after that, and you’ve just exposed its inner workings to the air as well; which will promptly be cooked by unshielded UV and dried out. Even something as decentralized as a plant will generally die if you mash it to a similar degree. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619/33 "2012-07-30T17:04:40Z")
Many insects, and spiders in particular, move around by using fluid pressure, rather than just muscular contractions, to control the movement of their legs. I’d imagine that destroying the exoskeleton makes it impossible for them to regulate the pressure in their limbs, making them immobile and creating the appearance of death, possibly before they’re even actually dead from the trauma of smushing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-bugs-die-when-crushed/629619.md?page=1)