Portal:Insects

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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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Henry Edwards (27 August 1827 – 9 June 1891) was an English stage actor, writer and entomologist who gained fame in Australia, San Francisco and New York City for his theatre work.

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

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Credit: Fir0002

Simosyrphus grandicornis is an Australasian species of hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae), and is one of the two most common hoverflies in Australia, alongside Melangyna viridiceps. Pictured above is a pair of S. grandicornis mating in flight.

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WikiProject Insects

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