In this experiment we set out to determine the effects of temperature on the activity level of O. fasciatus and to test whether the insects were most active during an intermediate temperature window of 10-20°C that encompasses the Massachusetts average daytime temperature of 15°C. Our results show that the milkweed bugs start being active at 10°C and that the number of active bugs increases linearly until 20°C, at which point all of the insects show activity.
In both the hot to cold group and the cold to hot group, there is a positive linear correlation between activity count and temperature, with R2 = 0.8874 and R2 = 0.8893 for each group respectively. These R2 values suggest a strong linear correlation between activity and temperature which implies that the number of active insects will increase as temperature increases and vice versa.
However, these data also show that not all of the insects are active in the intermediate temperature zone of 10-20°C. Our data show that there are, on average, 3.79 active insects in this temperature range. Against the null hypothesis that mean activity count will be 10 active insects out of 10 total insects, a T-test yields a p-value of 1.24e-10, which is below 0.05 and therefore statistically significant. Thus, the null hypothesis that O. fasciatus is most active during an intermediate temperature window of 10-20°C is rejected. This analysis evinces that these insects are not at their most active at temperatures that range across the average daytime temperatures in Massachusetts.
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