Portal:Insects

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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

Reconstruction of Macabeemyrma ovata head capsule

Macabeemyrma is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae containing the single species Macabeemyrma ovata, described in 2006 from Ypresian stage (Early Eocene) deposits of British Columbia, Canada. Only a single specimen is known; a holotype queen found preserved as a compression fossil. The specimen had no wings and small portions of its legs and eyes were faintly preserved. It was a large ant, reaching 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in length. This ants' behaviour would have been similar to that of extant Myrmeciinae ants, such as foraging singly in search for arthropod prey and nesting in soil or in trees. Macabeemyrma shows similarities to extinct ants in the genus Ypresiomyrma, and to the living Nothomyrmecia macrops, but has not been conclusively assigned to any tribe, instead generally regarded as incertae sedis within Myrmeciinae. However, the sole specimen lacks definitive traits, and its classification in Myrmeciinae, and even its identity as an ant, has been challenged. (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 1Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 2Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 3A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 4Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 5Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 6Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
Image 7Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (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 9A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 10Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 11Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 12
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 13Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 14The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 15Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 16The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 17Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 18Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 19Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 20Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 21Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 22Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 23The 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 24Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 25Head 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 26Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 27Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 28Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 29Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 30Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 31Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 32Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)

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.

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.