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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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The list of Odonata species of Slovenia includes 72 species of dragonflies and damselflies (Slovene: kačji pastirji) for which reliable records exist from the present-day territory of Slovenia, including one that has not been seen since the 1960s and is presumed to have been extirpated (locally extinct), but could have simply been overlooked. The list is based on two reference works: Atlas of the Dragonflies (Odonata) of Slovenia, a joint publication of the Slovene Odonatological Society and the Slovene Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora from 1997, and the newer Atlas of the European dragonflies and damselflies (2015), supported by other, more recent publications in which new species described after 1997 were documented.

Odonata species from the territory of present-day Slovenia were systematically studied by the naturalists Johann Weikhard von Valvasor and Giovanni Antonio Scopoli as early as the 17th and 18th centuries; however, the first systematic compendium was only published in the 1960s by the Slovene zoologist Boštjan Kiauta [sl]. The distribution of Odonata in Slovenia is now fairly well known by international standards, with Slovenia having been one of the first European countries for which a full account of faunistic data (an "atlas") was published. The number of species (72) represents almost exactly half of the European species (143) and is comparable with the number of species of Germany (81) and Spain (80), both much larger countries. Slovenian odonate fauna is therefore considered highly diverse, which is attributed to the country's position on the junction of several ecoregions where many species reach the border of their distribution. (Full article...)

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... that the extinct rove beetle genus Ektatotricha is known from 15 beetles trapped in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar?
... that "Sheridan's Green Hairstreak", Callophrys sheridanii, is Wyoming's state butterfly?
... that one species of the extinct wasp Palaeovespa fed caterpillars to its larvae?
... that fighting crickets are provided with female company before the fight, stimulated with tickling during the fight, and buried in silver coffins after it?
... that the predatory insect Orius insidiosus is mass-reared for use in the biological control of thrips?

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

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

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Credit: Richard Bartz

Mayflies (subimago of Rhithrogena germanica pictured) comprise around 2,500 species of insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage usually lasts one year in fresh water, while the adults are short-lived, surviving from a few minutes to a few days.

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