Portal:Insects

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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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Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in more than a million deaths.

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever, filariasis, tularemia, dirofilariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Ross River fever, Barmah Forest fever, La Crosse encephalitis, and Zika fever, as well as newly detected Keystone virus and Rift Valley fever. In January 2024, an Australian research group proved that Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative pathogen of Buruli ulcer is transmitted by mosquitoes. This is the first described mosquito-borne transmission of a bacterial disease. (Full article...)

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... that the beetle Caryobruchus gleditsiae is named after the legume Gleditsia triacanthos, although it lives exclusively on palms?
... that the larvae of the common green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea usually consume aphids, but when food is scarce they will eat each other?
... that the "black-margined loosestrife beetle", Galerucella calmariensis, was introduced to North America for biological pest control against the invasive Lythrum salicaria?
... that Edward L. Kessel assembled the world's most comprehensive collection of Platypezidae flat-footed flies?
... that in the north, the North American paper wasp Polistes annularis has rust-red markings on a predominantly black thorax, but in the south, the thorax is mostly rust-red with black markings?

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

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Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae), is a mosquito that can spread the dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, and other diseases. It can be recognized by white markings on legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the thorax.

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WikiProject Insects

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