Which excretory organs help with uric acid excretion in insects?

Which excretory organs help with uric acid excretion in insects?

• A. Malpighian tubules
• B. Green glands
• C. Nephridia
• D. Coxal glands

Answer: (A)

Insects conserve water by excreting nitrogenous waste as uric acid, and the key organ responsible is the Malpighian tubule system. These tubules extend from the digestive tract into the hemolymph, actively removing wastes like uric acid from the insect’s body fluids. The tubules secrete this waste into the gut, and as the digestive contents move through the hindgut, water and valuable ions are reabsorbed. What’s left is a concentrated uric acid paste that exits with the feces. This dry waste form is ideal for life on land because it minimizes water loss. Other options aren’t insects. Green glands are antennal glands found in crustaceans and function in excretion there, not in insects. Nephridia are typical of some annelids and mollusks, not insects. Coxal glands occur in some arachnids. So the insect excretory system specifically used for uric acid is the Malpighian tubules.

Insects conserve water by excreting nitrogenous waste as uric acid, and the key organ responsible is the Malpighian tubule system. These tubules extend from the digestive tract into the hemolymph, actively removing wastes like uric acid from the insect’s body fluids. The tubules secrete this waste into the gut, and as the digestive contents move through the hindgut, water and valuable ions are reabsorbed. What’s left is a concentrated uric acid paste that exits with the feces. This dry waste form is ideal for life on land because it minimizes water loss.

Other options aren’t insects. Green glands are antennal glands found in crustaceans and function in excretion there, not in insects. Nephridia are typical of some annelids and mollusks, not insects. Coxal glands occur in some arachnids. So the insect excretory system specifically used for uric acid is the Malpighian tubules.