Portal:Insects
Wikipedia portal for content related to Insects / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portal maintenance status: (June 2018)
|
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...)
Selected article - show another
Snakeflies are a group of predatory insects comprising the order Raphidioptera with two extant families: Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae, consisting of roughly 260 species. In the past, the group had a much wider distribution than it does now; snakeflies are found in temperate regions worldwide but are absent from the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere. Recognisable representatives of the group first appeared during the Early Jurassic. They are a relict group, having reached their apex of diversity during the Cretaceous before undergoing substantial decline.
An adult snakefly resembles a lacewing in appearance but has a notably elongated thorax which, together with the mobile head, gives the group their common name. The body is long and slender and the two pairs of long, membranous wings are prominently veined. Females have a large and sturdy ovipositor which is used to deposit eggs in some concealed location. They are holometabolous insects with a four-stage life cycle consisting of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. In most species, the larvae develop under the bark of trees. They may take several years before they undergo metamorphosis, requiring a period of chilling before pupation takes place. Both adults and larvae are predators of soft-bodied arthropods. (Full article...)Did you know - load new batch
- ... 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?
List articles
Related portals
General images - load new batch
- Image 3Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
- Image 5Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
- Image 6Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
- Image 7Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
- Image 8Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
- Image 9Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
- Image 10The 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 11Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
- Image 12Head 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 14Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
- Image 15Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
- Image 16Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
- Image 17Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
- Image 19Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
- Image 20Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
- Image 22A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
- Image 23Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
- Image 24The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
- Image 25A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
- Image 26The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
- Image 27Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
- Image 28Insect morphology
Legend of body parts
Tagmata: A – Head, B – Thorax, C – Abdomen.(from Insect morphology)- antenna
- ocelli (lower)
- ocelli (upper)
- compound eye
- brain (cerebral ganglia)
- prothorax
- dorsal blood vessel
- tracheal tubes (trunk with spiracle)
- mesothorax
- metathorax
- forewing
- hindwing
- mid-gut (stomach)
- dorsal tube (heart)
- ovary
- hind-gut (intestine, rectum & anus)
- anus
- oviduct
- nerve cord (abdominal ganglia)
- Malpighian tubes
- tarsal pads
- claws
- tarsus
- tibia
- femur
- trochanter
- fore-gut (crop, gizzard)
- thoracic ganglion
- coxa
- salivary gland
- subesophageal ganglion
- mouthparts
- Image 29Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
- Image 30Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
- Image 32Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Selected image - show another
Credit: Chrumps |
The rose chafer Cetonia aurata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is a beetle, 20 mm (¾ in) long, that has metallic green coloration.
Topics
Subcategories
WikiProjects
Main WikiProject:
Related projects:
- WikiProject Arthropods
- WikiProject Spiders
- WikiProject Animals
- WikiProject Tree of Life
- WikiProject Biology
Daughter projects:
Tasks
|
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus