are insect antennae magnetic?

I don't think so, although I believe some are sensitive to magnetic fields. I may be wrong.

I remember seeing a few documentaries saying various things about some insects being able to detect minute variations in some magentic fields; whether it's true or not I don't know.

Bees magnetic particles are in their abdomen I think.

I'm doing a bug collection. When I put my finger to an antenna of a small bug, it moved away. The bug was about 2-3 times as short as the antennae. At first, the antennae moved away a lot and was very sensitive. Now it's not as much.

Probably electrostatic repulsion.

Plus moving your fingers around in the air can cause pressure differentials which some insects can quite easily detect.

I thought the insect was dead?

I'm doing a bug collection. When I put my finger to an antenna of a small bug, it moved away. The bug was about 2-3 times as short as the antennae. At first, the antennae moved away a lot and was very sensitive. Now it's not as much.

 

to test your idea:

 

(1) get a magnet and put that near the antenna.

(2) rub a piece of perspex with a soft cloth or something like a jumper for a bit (static electricity) and put that near the antennae.

 

I suspect that (1) won't move, and (2) will move.

 

try it on insects that have been dead for different lengths of time too, since there might be some effects of rigor mortis, or whatever the insect equivalent is. then perhaps try on different sorts of insects. If you design the experiment carefully enough, and are patient enough, you could come up with som more quantitative results, such as distances and angles and so on, and perhaps apply a statistical study as well.

 

do the experiments, write a little paper and post the results here That's what science is all about!

yeah, I`m with Rad Ed on this, also take into account the possibility of inducing currents into the dead beasty, rem that experiment with the copper and zinc strips and the frogs leg?

 

so maybe in addition you could also use a dessicated insect and try that also, where there`s no liquid (and we know there isn`t metal) it`ll be difficult to get a reaction out of it, if it IS induced electric current