Portal:Insects
The Insects Portal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Western_honey_bee_on_a_honeycomb.jpg/200px-Western_honey_bee_on_a_honeycomb.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Bullant_head_detail.jpg/200px-Bullant_head_detail.jpg)
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...)
Selected article -
Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known pests.
The cockroaches are an ancient group, with their ancestors, known as "roachoids", originating during the Carboniferous period, some 320 million years ago. Those early ancestors, however, lacked the internal ovipositors of modern roaches. Cockroaches are somewhat generalized insects lacking special adaptations (such as the sucking mouthparts of aphids and other true bugs); they have chewing mouthparts and are probably among the most primitive of living Neopteran insects. They are common and hardy insects capable of tolerating a wide range of climates, from Arctic cold to tropical heat. Tropical cockroaches are often much larger than temperate species. (Full article...)Did you know -
- ... that offspring of Gargaphia solani almost always fall victim to predation without the protection of their mother?
- ... that the brilliantly-coloured blue and black neon cuckoo bee of Australia is a parasite of the blue banded bee?
- ... that fossil specimens of the extinct scorpionfly family Dinopanorpidae, which includes Dinopanorpa and Dinokanaga, sometimes have preserved dark with light to clear color patterning?
- ... that Ororaphidia and Styporaphidia are the oldest snakeflies known from China, dating from the Middle Jurassic?
- ... that the Australian cicada Psaltoda plaga is commonly known as the "black prince"?
List articles
Related portals
General images -
Selected image -
![{{{caption}}}](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Pseudomallada_edwardsi_AF_1.jpg/300px-Pseudomallada_edwardsi_AF_1.jpg)
Green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) is a family of lacewings containing about 85 genera and (according to different sources) 1,300–2,000 species. Members of the genera Chrysopa (pictured) and Chrysoperla are very common in North America and Europe; they are very similar and many of their species have been moved from one genus to the other times and again.
WikiProjects
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Group_people_icon.jpg/58px-Group_people_icon.jpg)
Main WikiProject:
Related projects:
- WikiProject Arthropods
- WikiProject Spiders
- WikiProject Animals
- WikiProject Tree of Life
- WikiProject Biology
Daughter projects:
Tasks
![]() |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus