Portal:Insects

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The Insects Portal

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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Phengaris rebeli (formerly Maculinea rebeli), common name mountain Alcon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria, on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was initially classified as a subspecies of P. alcon, a European researcher, Lucien A. Berger, designated it as a separate species in 1946. Genetic similarities between P. rebeli and P. alcon have led many researchers to argue that the two are the same species and differences are due to intraspecific variation.

Although P. rebeli is found across the Palearctic (see subspecies), it is difficult to determine the species' precise range due to confusion with P. alcon. (Full article...)

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... that the ringlegged earwig gets its common name from the noticeable dark bands around the middle of its six legs?
... that the female sweetpotato bug is very protective of her young?
... that the stink-bug Nezara viridula can feed on plants from over 30 families, but its preference for legumes, such as beans and soybeans, make it an economically important pest on crops?
... that the only male "sweat bee" to have been documented from Dominican amber is the type specimen for the extinct Eickwortapis?
... that after Indian domino cockroaches copulate, a female does not permit males to approach, kicking them away with her hind legs?

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

Image 1Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 2The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 3Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 4A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 5Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 6Head 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 7Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 8The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 9Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 10Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 11Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 12Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 13The 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 14The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
Image 15Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 16Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 17A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 18Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 19Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
Image 20Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 21Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 22Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 23Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 24Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 25Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 26Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 27Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 28Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 29Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 30
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 31Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 32Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)

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Credit: Fir0002

Simosyrphus grandicornis is an Australasian species of hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae), and is one of the two most common hoverflies in Australia, alongside Melangyna viridiceps. Pictured above is a pair of S. grandicornis mating in flight.

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WikiProject Insects

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Article requests : There are thousands of family-level through species-level articles that have yet to be started.
Categorization : Figure out what categories to add to each article so that others can find them more easily. Also use the {{WikiProject Insects}} template to classify the status of any articles related to insect taxa.
Infobox : Add or update a {{Taxobox}}: Add more information like species authors or create a completely new taxobox for an entomology article that needs one.
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