Portal:Insects

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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Linne's cicada, Neotibicen linnei

The cicadas (/sɪˈkɑːdəz, -ˈkeɪ-/) are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed. Nearly all cicada species are annual cicadas with the exception of the few North American periodical cicada species, genus Magicicada, which in a given region emerge en masse every 13 or 17 years.

Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae, and membranous front wings. They have an exceptionally loud song, produced in most species by the rapid buckling and unbuckling of drum-like tymbals. The earliest known fossil Cicadomorpha appeared in the Upper Permian period; extant species occur all around the world in temperate to tropical climates. They typically live in trees, feeding on watery sap from xylem tissue, and laying their eggs in a slit in the bark. Most cicadas are cryptic. The vast majority of species are active during the day as adults, with some calling at dawn or dusk. Only a rare few species are known to be nocturnal. (Full article...)

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... that the fossil butterfly Prodryas persephone is so well preserved that individual wing scales can be seen?
... that the beetle Lixus concavus lives inside sunflowers?
... that the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory imports up to 3,000 butterflies a month from around the world?
... that the extinct sawfly Pseudosiobla cambelli is one of three species of Pseudosiobla known from the fossil record?
... that members of Senostoma kill their hosts when ready to emerge?

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

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

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The Meadow Argus, Junonia villida (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), is a butterfly commonly found in Australia. It is also known as Albin's Hampstead Eye in the United Kingdom, where it has occurred only as an accidental import.

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Main WikiProject:

WikiProject Insects

Related projects:

WikiProject Arthropods
WikiProject Spiders
WikiProject Animals
WikiProject Tree of Life
WikiProject Biology

Daughter projects:

WikiProject Lepidoptera

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