Portal:Insects

The Insects Portal

Insects (from Latin insectum) are invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have an 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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Ants (family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera) are the most species-rich of all social insects, with more than 12,000 described species and many others awaiting description. Formicidae is divided into 21 subfamilies, of which 17 contain extant taxa, while four are exclusively fossil. Ants have come to occupy virtually all major terrestrial habitats, with the exception of tundra and cold ever-wet forests. They display a wide range of social behaviors, foraging habits and associations with other organisms, which has generated scientific and public interest. (Full article...)

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... that Araneagryllus is named from a combination of the Latin aranea meaning "spider" and gryllus meaning "cricket"?
... that the ant Pseudomyrmex ferruginea kills insects such as crickets and stings the heads of animals such as goats, attacking any approaching creatures attracted to the leaves of the Bullhorn Acacia?
... that Electrinocellia peculiaris is named for the Latin "electrum" meaning amber, "Inocellia", the type genus for Inocelliidae, and "peculiaris" for the enigmatic nature of the species?
... that the extinct sweat bee Augochlora leptoloba is known from a single specimen now in a private collection in Turin, Italy?
... that the extinct sweat bee genus Nesagapostemon is known from a single 9.9-millimetre (0.39 in) female specimen?

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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 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 4Showing the paired white paraprocts at the posterior tip. (from Insect morphology)
Image 5Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be one of the oldest insects, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 6Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 7Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 8Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 9Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 10Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 11Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 12The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 13Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 14Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 15Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 16Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (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 18Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 19Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 20Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 21Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 22Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 23Ctenopisma lineatum showing the two cerci and the central caudal filament. (from Insect morphology)
Image 24Reconstruction of Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 25
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 26Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil (from Evolution of insects)
Image 27The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 28Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)

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Credit: Luc Viatour

Panorpa communis, the common scorpionfly (Mecoptera: Panorpidae), is a species of scorpionfly native to Western Europe.

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