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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Mantis religiosa, Romania

Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.

The closest relatives of mantises are termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other more distantly related insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies (Mantispidae). Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation. (Full article...)

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... that Petalura hesperia dragonflies lay their eggs along stream margins because their larvae are semi-aquatic?
... that the beetle Typhaea stercorea has been found in grain storages dating all the way back to the Iron Age?
... that Vespula flaviceps larvae are considered a delicacy in Japan?
... that with a forewing length of only 3.36 millimetres (0.132 in) Microberotha is one of the smallest known beaded lacewings to have been described?
... that, in female bedbugs, the spermalege reduces the wounding costs caused by a male's needle-like penis?

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

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

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Reduviidae (Hemiptera) is a large, cosmopolitan family of predatory insects, including the assassin bugs (genera include Melanolestes, Platymeris, Pselliopus, Rasahus, Reduvius, Rhiginia, Sinea, Triatoma, and Zelus), wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus) and thread-legged bugs (the subfamily Emesinae, including the genus Emesaya). There are about 7,000 species altogether, making it one of the largest families in the Hemiptera.

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WikiProjects

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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Article requests : There are thousands of family-level through species-level articles that have yet to be started.
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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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