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
Thopha saccata, the double drummer, is the largest Australian species of cicada and reputedly the loudest insect in the world. Documented by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1803, it was the first described and named cicada native to Australia. Its common name comes from the large dark red-brown sac-like pockets that the adult male has on each side of its abdomen—the "double drums"—that are used to amplify the sound it produces.
Broad-headed compared with other cicadas, the double drummer is mostly brown with a black pattern across the back of its thorax, and has red-brown and black underparts. The sexes are similar in appearance, though the female lacks the male's tymbals and sac-like covers. Found in sclerophyll forest in Queensland and New South Wales, adult double drummers generally perch high in the branches of large eucalypts. They emerge from the ground where they have spent several years as nymphs from November until March, and live for another four to five weeks. They appear in great numbers in some years, yet are absent in others. (Full article...)Did you know - load new batch
- ... that along with Ithonidae, Polystoechotidae are regarded as the most primitive living members of the insect order Neuroptera?
- ... that the white-throated round-eared bat creates roosts inside the nests of the termite, Nasutitermes corniger?
- ... that Leptofoenus pittfieldae is the only species of Leptofoenus documented from the West Indies and the only member of Leptofoenus in the fossil record?
- ... that fluffy bums suck on passion vine juice?
- ... that Diorhabda carinata, D. sublineata and D. elongata, three species of leaf beetle in Eurasia and North Africa, are used as biological pest control agents against invasive tamarisk trees in North America?
List articles
Related portals
General images - load new batch
- Image 1Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
- Image 3Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
- Image 4Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
- Image 5The 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 6Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
- Image 7A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
- Image 8Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
- Image 9Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
- Image 11Insect 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 12Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
- Image 13Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
- Image 14Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
- Image 15Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
- Image 17Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
- Image 18The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
- Image 19A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
- Image 22The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
- Image 24Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
- Image 25Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
- Image 26Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
- Image 27Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
- Image 28Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
- Image 29Head 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 30Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
- 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: Fir0002 |
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.
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