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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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T. tatusia worker from El Campano, Magdalena, Colombia

Tatuidris, or armadillo ant, is a rare genus of ants consisting of a single species, Tatuidris tatusia. The ants are small in size and inhabit the leaf litter of Neotropical forests in Central and South America, from Mexico to Brazil. Workers are ferruginous-colored to dark red and present a distinctive morphology, consisting of a shield-like head with a broad vertex, ventrally-turned heavy mandibles which do not overlap at full closure, and unique among ants – an antenna socket apparatus sitting upside-down. Little is known about the biology of the ants, but they are likely nocturnal and specialist predators.

Tatuidris was first described in 1968 and initially placed in the myrmicine tribe Agroecomyrmecini, together with two fossil genera. Since the original description, the systematic status of the tribe has been the focus of debate. (Full article...)

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... that adult males of the parasitic wasp, Encarsia perplexa, can only develop when a virgin female lays eggs in a fully developed larva of her own species?
... that anywhere from 60 million to 1 billion monarch butterflies spend the winter at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico?
... that the bigheaded ant, Pheidole megacephala, protects the source of its food supply, green scale insects, by removing predatory larvae that might eat them?
... that three partial cross veins in the wings make D. appendiculata a unique fruit fly among the more than 1500 species of Drosophila?
... that due to its long life cycle, the adult Great Arctic is only seen every other year?

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

Image 1Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 2Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 3Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 4Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 5Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 6Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 7Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 8Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 9Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 10The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
Image 11A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 12Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 13Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
Image 14Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 15Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 16Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 17Head 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 18Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 19
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 20Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 21A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 22Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 23Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 24Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 25The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 26The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 27Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 28Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 29Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 30Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 31Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 32The 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)

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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.

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