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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Aleeta is a genus of cicadas with the only species Aleeta curvicosta (commonly known as the floury baker or floury miller, known until 2003 as Abricta curvicosta), one of Australia's most familiar insects. Native to the continent's eastern coastline, it was described in 1834 by Ernst Friedrich Germar.

The floury baker's distinctive appearance and loud call make it popular with children. Both the common and genus name are derived from the white, flour-like filaments covering the adult body. Its body and eyes are generally brown with pale patterns including a light-coloured line along the midline of the pronotum. Its forewings have distinctive dark brown patches at the base of two of their apical cells. The female is larger than the male, although species size overall varies geographically, with larger animals associated with regions of higher rainfall. The male has distinctive genitalia and a loud and complex call generated by the frequent buckling of ribbed tymbals and amplified by abdominal air sacs. (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 1Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 2Head 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 3Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 4A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 5Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 6Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 7Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 8Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 9Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 10Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 11A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 12The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
Image 13Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 14Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 15The 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 16Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 17Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 18Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 19Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
Image 20Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 21Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 22The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 23Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 24The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 25Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 26Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 27Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 28Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 29Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 30Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 31Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 32
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)

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Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae), is a mosquito that can spread the dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, and other diseases. It can be recognized by white markings on legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the thorax.

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WikiProject Insects

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