Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label omnivores

Hunting Animals Choose What They Eat

Hunting animals don't just eat what they "bump into". They select "who" they need to eat to maintain a healthy diet. This gives them a better chance of growing strong and big so they can reproduce and pass on their genes. A team from the University of Sydney, Oxford University, Aarhus University (Denmark) and Exeter University researched the ground beetle (Anchomenus dorsalis). Beetles were divided into three groups: one had a selection of bugs offered to them; the second group had high-protein food; and the third had high-fat offerings. The latter two groups did not fair very well. Those in the first group did very well. They chose ants, slugs, moths, aphids and beetle larvae as they wanted and produced more eggs than the other two. It was known that herbivore and omnivore insects ate varied diets. This study confirms the view that all animals select their food due to inner craving created by the body based on the body's immediate needs. The pr