Portal:Entomology
Portal:Insects
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...)
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A typical life cycle involves flightless females giving live birth to female nymphs—who may also be already pregnant, an adaptation scientists call telescoping generations—without the involvement of males. Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonize new plants. In temperate regions, a phase of sexual reproduction occurs in the autumn, with the insects often overwintering as eggs.
The life cycle of some species involves an alternation between two species of host plants, for example between an annual crop and a woody plant. Some species feed on only one type of plant, while others are generalists, colonizing many plant groups. About 5,000 species of aphid have been described, all included in the family Aphididae. Around 400 of these are found on food and fiber crops, and many are serious pests of agriculture and forestry, as well as an annoyance for gardeners. So-called dairying ants have a mutualistic relationship with aphids, tending them for their honeydew and protecting them from predators. (Full article...)- ... that adult males of the parasitic wasp, Encarsia perplexa, can only develop when a virgin female lays eggs in a fully developed larva of her own species?
- ... that anywhere from 60 million to 1 billion monarch butterflies spend the winter at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico?
- ... that the bigheaded ant, Pheidole megacephala, protects the source of its food supply, green scale insects, by removing predatory larvae that might eat them?
- ... that three partial cross veins in the wings make D. appendiculata a unique fruit fly among the more than 1500 species of Drosophila?
- ... that due to its long life cycle, the adult Great Arctic is only seen every other year?
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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