Portal:Insects

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Insects (from Latin insectum) are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. (Full article...)

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Waxy scales on cycad leaf

Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.

The oldest fossils of the group date to the Late Jurassic, preserved in amber. They were already substantially diversified by the Early Cretaceous suggesting an earlier origin during the Triassic or Jurassic. Their closest relatives are the jumping plant lice, whiteflies, phylloxera bugs and aphids. The majority of female scale insects remain in one place as adults, with newly hatched nymphs, known as "crawlers", being the only mobile life stage, apart from the short-lived males. The reproductive strategies of many species include at least some amount of asexual reproduction by parthenogenesis. (Full article...)

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... that the extinct Phlebotominae sandfly Pintomyia falcaorum is known only from Miocene age Dominican amber found on Hispaniola?
... that although true bugs eat aphids, they help the aphids by eating another predator, young lacewings?
... that the ground beetle, Lebia grandis, can eat about 23 eggs or three larvae of the Colorado potato beetle every day?
... that the weevil Hylobius transversovittatus has been introduced into the United States and Canada to help control the invasive wetland plant Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)?
... that the larva of the Texas beetle, Brachypsectra fulva, can live for over two years without feeding?

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The following are images from various insect-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
Image 2The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 3The development of insect mouthparts from the primitive chewing mouthparts of a grasshopper in the center (A), to the lapping type (B) of a bee, the siphoning type (C) of a butterfly and the sucking type (D) of a female mosquito.
Legend: a – antennae
c – compound eye
lb – labium
lr – labrum
md – mandibles
mx – maxillae (from Insect morphology)
Image 4The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
Image 5Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 6Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 7Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 8Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 9Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 10Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 11Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 12A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 13Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 14Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 15Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 16Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 17Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 18Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 19Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 20Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 21
Insect morphology
Legend of body parts
Tagmata: A – Head, B – Thorax, C – Abdomen.
1. antenna
2. ocelli (lower)
3. ocelli (upper)
4. compound eye
5. brain (cerebral ganglia)
6. prothorax
7. dorsal blood vessel
8. tracheal tubes (trunk with spiracle)
9. mesothorax
10. metathorax
11. forewing
12. hindwing
13. mid-gut (stomach)
14. dorsal tube (heart)
15. ovary
16. hind-gut (intestine, rectum & anus)
17. anus
18. oviduct
19. nerve cord (abdominal ganglia)
20. Malpighian tubes
21. tarsal pads
22. claws
23. tarsus
24. tibia
25. femur
26. trochanter
27. fore-gut (crop, gizzard)
28. thoracic ganglion
29. coxa
30. salivary gland
31. subesophageal ganglion
32. mouthparts
(from Insect morphology)
Image 22Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 23The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 24Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 25Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 26Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 27Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 28Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 29Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 30Head of Orthoptera, Acrididae. a:antenna; b:ocelli; c:vertex; d:compound eye; e:occiput; f:gena; g:pleurostoma; h:mandible; i:labial palp; j:maxillary palps; k:maxilla; l:labrum; m:clypeus; n:frons (from Insect morphology)
Image 31A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 32Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)

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Credit: Richard Bartz

Mayflies (subimago of Rhithrogena germanica pictured) comprise around 2,500 species of insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage usually lasts one year in fresh water, while the adults are short-lived, surviving from a few minutes to a few days.

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