Portal:Insects

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The Insects Portal

A western honey bee on a honeycomb created inside of a wooden beehive

A bull ant showing the powerful mandibles and the relatively large compound eyes that provide excellent vision

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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The sirex woodwasp (Sirex noctilio) is a species of horntail, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Adults vary in length from 9 to 36 mm (3⁄8 to 1+3⁄8 in).

This woodwasp is an invasive species in many parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, and South Africa, where it has become a significant economic pest of pine trees. The wasp can attack a wide variety of pine species, although some species seem to be more susceptible than others, and stressed trees often are attacked. (Full article...)

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... that the fossil sawfly species Eriocampa tulameenensis was found along the Canadian Pacific rail line near Princeton, British Columbia?
... that the wasp Dinocampus coccinellae can turn a ladybird into a "zombie bodyguard"?
... that June mating displays of Photinus carolinus create moving bands of light and darkness that draw crowds one firefly scientist calls "obscene"?
... that the moose botfly Cephenemyia ulrichii shoots its larvae into people's eyes, perhaps because human eyes and moose nostrils both face forward?
... that musician David Rothenberg appears in a YouTube video playing jazz with cassini periodical cicadas, insects noted for their synchronized rhythm?

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

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

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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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WikiProject Lepidoptera

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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.