Portal:Insects

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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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Worker policing is a behavior seen in colonies of social hymenopterans (ants, bees, and wasps) whereby worker females eat or remove eggs that have been laid by other workers rather than those laid by a queen. Worker policing ensures that the offspring of the queen will predominate in the group. In certain species of bees, ants and wasps, workers or the queen may also act aggressively towards fertile workers. Worker policing has been suggested as a form of coercion to promote the evolution of altruistic behavior in eusocial insect societies.

Proposed mechanisms for the recognition of worker-laid eggs or active reproductive workers include marker hydrocarbons on the surface of queen-laid eggs, cuticle hydrocarbons on reproductive workers, and recognition of nest-mates. In rare cases, worker-laid eggs carry mimicked queen hydrocarbons and escape policing, a condition known as the anarchic syndrome. (Full article...)

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... that adult males of the parasitic wasp, Encarsia perplexa, can only develop when a virgin female lays eggs in a fully developed larva of her own species?
... that anywhere from 60 million to 1 billion monarch butterflies spend the winter at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico?
... that the bigheaded ant, Pheidole megacephala, protects the source of its food supply, green scale insects, by removing predatory larvae that might eat them?
... that three partial cross veins in the wings make D. appendiculata a unique fruit fly among the more than 1500 species of Drosophila?
... that due to its long life cycle, the adult Great Arctic is only seen every other year?

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

Image 1Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 2A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 3
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 4The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
Image 5Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 6Head 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 7Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 8Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 9Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 10Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 11The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 12A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 13The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 14Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 15Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 16Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 17Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 18Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 19Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 20Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 21Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 22The 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 23Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 24Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 25Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 26Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 27Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 28Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 29Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 30Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 31Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 32Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (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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