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

P. longiceps

Prionomyrmex is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. It was first described by Gustav Mayr in 1868, after he collected a holotype worker of P. longiceps in Baltic amber. Three species are currently described, characterised by their long mandibles, slender bodies and large size. These ants are known from the Eocene and Late Oligocene, with fossil specimens only found around Europe. It is suggested that these ants preferred to live in jungles, with one species assumed to be an arboreal nesting species. These ants had a powerful stinger that was used to subdue prey. In 2000, it was suggested by Cesare Baroni Urbani that the living species Nothomyrmecia macrops and a species he described both belonged to Prionomyrmex, but this proposal has not been widely accepted by the entomological community. Instead, scientists still classify the two genera distinctive from each other, making Nothomyrmecia a valid genus. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know - load new batch

... that the only fossil of the extinct moth Baltimartyria sat on a paleoentomologist's desk for a number of years before being described in 2011?
... that the extinct wasps Dryinus grimaldii and Dryinus rasnitsyni are distinguishable by the modified claws on their front legs?
... that the extinct planthopper Ordralfabetix is named for a character from The Adventures of Asterix?
... that the rove beetle Diochus electrus is the first definite member of the subfamily Staphylininae from the fossil record?
... that the horse fly Scaptia beyonceae was named after singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles because of its striking golden behind?

List articles

More list articles

Related portals

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 2The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)
Image 3Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 4Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 5Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 6Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 7Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 8Head 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 9Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 10The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 11Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 12Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 13Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 14Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 15The 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 16A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 17Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 18Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 19Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 20Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 21The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 22
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 23Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 24Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 25Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 26Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (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 28Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
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 31Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 32Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)

Selected image - show another

Credit: Noodle snacks

Abantiades latipennis (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) is one of fourteen species in the Australian genus Abantiades. It thrives in regrowth forests that were previously clearfelled; the phytophagous larvae of A. latipennis feed primarily on the root systems of two species of tree, Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate stringybark) and Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash).

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.