Portal:Insects

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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John S. Clark (21 March 1885 – 1 June 1956) was a Scottish-born Australian entomologist and myrmecologist known for his study of Australian ants. Born in Glasgow, he developed an interest in entomology at a young age. Clark first arrived in Australia in 1905 and originally worked for the state railways in Queensland. He developed an interest in ants shortly afterwards, collecting his first specimens in North Queensland. He married his first wife, Maggie Forbes in 1908, who bore four children, and died in 1935. He married his second wife, Phyllis Marjorie Claringbulls in 1939 and had two daughters with her. On her suicide in 1943, Clark sent his daughters to an orphanage.

In 1919, Clark worked as the assistant to the entomologist on probation in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture, but in 1920, he took on this position full-time. He started to publish his first articles about pest insects and ants from 1921; in 1926 he became an entomologist at the National Museum in Melbourne, remaining there for 20 years. Clark continued to publish more articles until he resigned from the National Museum of Victoria in 1944. Living in poverty, Clark lived a reclusive life, publishing his last book in 1951. He died on 1 June 1956 at the age of 71. One of Clark's most notable achievements was describing Nothomyrmecia macrops, the most primitive living ant. Several ants have been named after him in recognition of his contributions. (Full article...)

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Did you know -

... that Clouded Magpie moths resemble bird droppings while they are resting on the upper surface of leaves?
... that the caterpillars of the moth Mompha raschkiella cause a yellowish blotch on the leaves of Rosebay Willowherb that bleach rapidly after the caterpillars leave them?
... that the scientific name of the peacock carpenter bee (Xylocopa bombylans) means "bumblebee-like wood-cutter"?
... that the mayfly Rhithrogena germanica can emerge from a river, moult and fly off in 30 seconds?
... that the first entomological article written by a New World native concerned the "Great Black Waſp"?

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

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

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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).

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WikiProjects

Main WikiProject:

WikiProject Insects

Related projects:

WikiProject Arthropods
WikiProject Spiders
WikiProject Animals
WikiProject Tree of Life
WikiProject Biology

Daughter projects:

WikiProject Lepidoptera

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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.
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