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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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A group of fire ant workers

Solenopsis invicta, the fire ant, or red imported fire ant (RIFA), is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant of S. saevissima in 1916. Its current specific name invicta was given to the ant in 1972 as a separate species. However, the variant and species were the same ant, and the name was preserved due to its wide use. Though South American in origin, the red imported fire ant has been accidentally introduced in Australia, New Zealand, several Asian and Caribbean countries, Europe and the United States. The red imported fire ant is polymorphic, as workers appear in different shapes and sizes. The ant's colours are red and somewhat yellowish with a brown or black gaster, but males are completely black. Red imported fire ants are dominant in altered areas and live in a wide variety of habitats. They can be found in rainforests, disturbed areas, deserts, grasslands, alongside roads and buildings, and in electrical equipment. Colonies form large mounds constructed from soil with no visible entrances because foraging tunnels are built and workers emerge far away from the nest.

These ants exhibit a wide variety of behaviours, such as building rafts when they sense that water levels are rising. They also show necrophoric behaviour, where nestmates discard scraps or dead ants on refuse piles outside the nest. Foraging takes place on warm or hot days, although they may remain outside at night. Workers communicate by a series of semiochemicals and pheromones, which are used for recruitment, foraging, and defence. They are omnivores and eat dead mammals, arthropods, insects, seeds, and sweet substances such as honeydew from hemipteran insects with which they have developed relationships. Predators include arachnids, birds, and many insects including other ants, dragonflies, earwigs, and beetles. The ant is a host to parasites and to a number of pathogens, nematodes, and viruses, which have been viewed as potential biological control agents. Nuptial flight occurs during the warm seasons, and the alates may mate for as long as 30 minutes. Colony founding can be done by a single queen or a group of queens, which later contest for dominance once the first workers emerge. Workers can live for several months, while queens can live for years; colony numbers can vary from 100,000 to 250,000 individuals. Two forms of society in the red imported fire ant exist: polygynous colonies (nests with multiple queens) and monogynous colonies (nests with one queen). (Full article...)

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... that molecular phylogenetics suggests that Pthirus gorillae jumped from gorillas to early humans about 3.3 million years ago and speciated into the present day pubic louse?
... that Austroplatypus incompertus forms colonies in the heartwood of some Eucalyptus trees and was the first beetle recognized as eusocial?
... that Mimoides phaon was the first swallowtail butterfly of the genus Mimoides to stray into the United States?
... that the "orchid dupe wasp", Lissopimpla excelsa, ejaculates visible amounts of semen as it tries to copulate with flowers of the leafless-, large- and tartan- tongue orchids, which it mistakes for a female wasp?
... that the oriental mole cricket, Gryllotalpa orientalis, can not only dig a burrow a metre deep but can also swim?

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

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

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Credit: Fir0002

Gryllotalpa brachyptera is a mole cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae), native to Australia. Mole crickets are thick-bodied insects about 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long, with large beady eyes and shovel-like forelimbs highly developed for burrowing and swimming. The adult mole cricket may fly as far as 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) during the mating season, is active most of the year, and spends the winter in hibernation.

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