Portal:Insects

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished from other orders by the presence of scales on the external parts of the body and appendages, especially the wings. Butterflies and moths vary in size from microlepidoptera only a few millimetres long, to a wingspan of many inches such as the Atlas moth. Comprising over 160,000 described species, the Lepidoptera possess variations of the basic body structure which has evolved to gain advantages in adaptation and distribution.

Lepidopterans undergo complete metamorphosis, going through a four-stage life cycle: egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis, and imago (plural: imagines) / adult. The larvae – caterpillars – have a toughened (sclerotised) head capsule, chewing mouthparts, and a soft body, that may have hair-like or other projections, three pairs of true legs, and up to five pairs of prolegs. Most caterpillars are herbivores, but a few are carnivores (some eat ants, aphids, or other caterpillars) or detritivores. Larvae are the feeding and growing stages and periodically undergo hormone-induced ecdysis, developing further with each instar, until they undergo the final larval–pupal moult. The larvae of many lepidopteran species will either make a spun casing of silk called a cocoon and pupate inside it, or will pupate in a cell under the ground. In many butterflies, the pupa is suspended from a cremaster and is called a chrysalis. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

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

More list articles

Related portals

General images - load new batch

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

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

Selected image - show another

Credit: Noodle snacks

Green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) is a family of lacewings containing about 85 genera and (according to different sources) 1,300–2,000 species. Members of the genera Chrysopa (pictured) and Chrysoperla are very common in North America and Europe; they are very similar and many of their species have been moved from one genus to the other times and again.

More selected pictures • Read more

Topics

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

By classification

WikiProjects

Main WikiProject:

WikiProject Insects

Related projects:

Daughter projects:

WikiProject Lepidoptera

Tasks

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : There are thousands of family-level through species-level articles that have yet to be started.
Categorization : Figure out what categories to add to each article so that others can find them more easily. Also use the {{WikiProject Insects}} template to classify the status of any articles related to insect taxa.
Infobox : Add or update a {{Taxobox}}: Add more information like species authors or create a completely new taxobox for an entomology article that needs one.
Photo : Many entomology–related articles would be substantially better with the addition of one or more photographs. Feel free to take your own and upload them, or find ones with the appropriate licenses and upload them here.