When a female jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa) encounters a cockroach (Periplaneta americana), she stings and injects neurotoxins into its head that render the insect unable to initiate self-movement but not paralyzed. The wasp then holds the compliant (zombie) cockroach by the antenna and leads it to her nest, where it will become live food for her larval offspring. The following graph (data from Gal and Libersat 2010) compares the mean self-initiated walking duration of stung and control cockroaches during the first 30 minutes after treatment. The error bars indicate approximate 95% confidence intervals;  in each group.

a. Estimate the lower and upper limits of the confidence intervals for the control group.

b. Approximate the value of the standard error for the control group.

c. Identify two values of the population mean duration for the control group that are among the most plausible.

d. Identify two values of the population mean duration for the stung group that are less plausible.

e. Identify the main weakness in the construction of the graph. How would you improve it?

Transcribed Image Text:

n=5n = 5