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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Juvenile Gryllus campestris

Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms, "crickets" were placed at the family level (i.e. Gryllidae), but contemporary authorities including Otte now place them in the superfamily Grylloidea. The word has been used in combination to describe more distantly related taxa in the suborder Ensifera, such as king crickets and mole crickets.

Crickets have mainly cylindrically shaped bodies, round heads, and long antennae. Behind the head is a smooth, robust pronotum. The abdomen ends in a pair of long cerci; females have a long, cylindrical ovipositor. Diagnostic features include legs with 3-segmented tarsi; as with many Orthoptera, the hind legs have enlarged femora, providing power for jumping. The front wings are adapted as tough, leathery elytra, and some crickets chirp by rubbing parts of these together. The hind wings are membranous and folded when not in use for flight; many species, however, are flightless. The largest members of the family are the bull crickets, Brachytrupes, which are up to 5 cm (2 in) long. (Full article...)

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... that Parachartergus apicalis will attack Camponotus atriceps if they try to tend their treehoppers?
... that the Philippine hornet Vespa luctuosa has the most lethal venom by weight of any known wasp species?
... that amber fossils of ants carrying the extinct mealybug genus Electromyrmococcus represent the oldest record of symbiosis between mealybugs and Acropyga ants?
... that the extinct Protosialis casca is one of only two known alderflies from the West Indies?
... that the bone skipper came back from the dead after 160 years to feed on rotting bones?

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

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Credit: Noodle snacks

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.

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