The Physiology of Carbon Dioxide Transport in Insect Blood

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Abstract
1. From titration data it has been calculated that the buffer capacity β for normal Gastrophilus blood at pH 6.8 is 0.0225, for dialysed blood 0.014 and for blood to which carbonic anhydrase has been added, 0.033. The buffer capacity curves are all more or less U-shaped. 2. The contribution towards the total buffer capacity of various buffering substances, of which protein and bicarbonate are the most important, has been quantitatively determined. 3. It is tentatively suggested that the reason why insect blood is better buffered on either side of its normal pH instead of the reverse as in other animals, may be related to the inefficiency of the tracheal respiratory system in eliminating excess CO2.