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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Human interactions with insects include both a wide variety of uses, whether practical such as for food, textiles, and dyestuffs, or symbolic, as in art, music, and literature, and negative interactions including damage to crops and extensive efforts to control insect pests.

Academically, the interaction of insects and society has been treated in part as cultural entomology, dealing mostly with "advanced" societies, and in part as ethnoentomology, dealing mostly with "primitive" societies, though the distinction is weak and not based on theory. Both academic disciplines explore the parallels, connections and influence of insects on human populations, and vice versa. They are rooted in anthropology and natural history, as well as entomology, the study of insects. Other cultural uses of insects, such as biomimicry, do not necessarily lie within these academic disciplines. (Full article...)

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... that the seeds of the European sedge Carex pilulifera may be dispersed by the ant Myrmica ruginodis?
... that the oldest known member of the mayfly family Neoephemeridae is the Eocene species Neoephemera antiqua?
... that Sphecius grandis, the Western cicada killer wasp, paralyzes cicadas for its offspring to eat after hatching?
... that the extinct griffenfly genus Bohemiatupus inhabited peat-mires?
... that the extinct hangingfly genera Formosibittacus, Jurahylobittacus, and Mongolbittacus are only known from the Middle Jurassic of China?

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

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

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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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WikiProject Insects

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