insects characteristics

Many modern insect genera developed during the Cenozoic. [38] Phasmatodea and Embiidina have been suggested to form the Eukinolabia. The study of the classification or taxonomy of any insect is called systematic entomology. [104] The Madagascar hissing cockroach has the ability to press air through its spiracles to make a hissing noise as a sign of aggression;[105] the death's-head hawkmoth makes a squeaking noise by forcing air out of their pharynx when agitated, which may also reduce aggressive worker honey bee behavior when the two are in close proximity. Fossilized insects of enormous size have been found from the Paleozoic Era, including giant dragonflies with wingspans of 55 to 70 cm (22 to 28 in). Weaver ants scour the trees for suitable leaves, attempting to bend the leaf over itself. Furthermore, insects are valuable objects of study in elucidating many aspects of biology and ecology. [127], Camouflage is an important defense strategy, which involves the use of coloration or shape to blend into the surrounding environment. [149], Insect larvae (i.e. For example, aphids feed on crops and cause problems for farmers, but ladybugs feed on aphids, and can be used as a means to significantly reduce pest aphid populations. Most insects have antennae that allow them to touch, taste, hear and smell. Very low sounds are also produced in various species of Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Mantodea and Neuroptera. Conversely, some interactions between plants and insects, like pollination, are beneficial to both organisms. The foregut includes the buccal cavity (mouth), pharynx, esophagus and crop and proventriculus (any part may be highly modified), which both store food and signify when to continue passing onward to the midgut.[34]:70. [13][14] Traditionally, insects defined in this way were divided into "Apterygota" (the first five groups in the table)—the wingless insects—and Pterygota—the winged and secondarily wingless insects. Most insects, however, lead short lives as adults, and rarely interact with one another except to mate or compete for mates. The evolution of insect wings has been a subject of debate. [61][failed verification] This was discovered in 2003 by studying the variation in reactions of larvae of the common fruitfly Drosophila to the touch of a heated probe and an unheated one. Insects then have a variety of defense strategies to avoid being attacked by predators or parasitoids. Spermathecae are tubes or sacs in which sperm can be stored between the time of mating and the time an egg is fertilized. Each segment has four basic regions. Male moths can sense the pheromones of female moths over great distances. Insects are often used in investigations of hormonal action, nerve and sense organ function, and many other physiological processes. Many insects are considered pests by humans. Ants also help control animal populations by consuming small vertebrates. Between 950,000 and 1,000,000 of all described species are insects, so over 50% of all described eukaryotes (1.8 million) are insects (see illustration). Insects that undergo three-stage metamorphosis lack a pupal stage and adults develop through a series of nymphal stages. This form of development is exclusive to insects and not seen in any other arthropods. [52] Studies summarized in a 2019 review suggested a large proportion of insect species are threatened with extinction in the 21st century. [41] The Neuropterida are often lumped or split on the whims of the taxonomist. The dorsal blood vessel circulates the hemolymph, arthropods' fluid analog of blood, from the rear of the body cavity forward. These arose through complex plant-animal adaptations. Insects are the only invertebrates to have developed active flight capability, and this has played an important role in their success. The orthopteran family Acrididae has 11 segments, and a fossil specimen of Zoraptera has a 10-segmented abdomen.[59]. The appearance of gigantic insects has been found to be consistent with high atmospheric oxygen. For example, the Paraneoptera have turned out to be more closely related to the Endopterygota than to the rest of the Exopterygota. Insects are distinguished from other arthropods by their body, which is divided into three major regions: (1) the head, which bears the mouthparts, eyes, and a pair of antennae, (2) the three-segmented thorax, which usually has three pairs of legs (hence “Hexapoda”) in adults and usually one or two pairs of wings, and (3) the many-segmented abdomen, which contains the digestive, excretory, and reproductive organs. Some temperate region insects are capable of activity during winter, while some others migrate to a warmer climate or go into a state of torpor. Fleas are now thought to be closely related to boreid mecopterans. These insects are known as entomophagous parasites. [127] Batesian and Müllerian mimicry complexes are commonly found in Lepidoptera. Some species are able to control this light generation to produce flashes. As used here, the term Insecta is synonymous with Ectognatha. Hemocytes include many types of cells that are important for immune responses, wound healing, and other functions. In Schizophora however the serosa does not develop, but these flies lay their eggs in damp places, such as rotting matter. Microscopic projections from the midgut wall, called microvilli, increase the surface area of the wall and allow more nutrients to be absorbed; they tend to be close to the origin of the midgut. Many insects make use of these toxins to protect themselves from their predators. [93], Insects were the earliest organisms to produce and sense sounds. Very rarely, a species may have the ability to change color as their surroundings shift (Bostra scabrinota). A few insects, such as members of the families Poduridae and Onychiuridae (Collembola), Mycetophilidae (Diptera) and the beetle families Lampyridae, Phengodidae, Elateridae and Staphylinidae are bioluminescent. During this era, some giant dragonfly-like forms reached wingspans of 55 to 70 cm (22 to 28 in), making them far larger than any living insect. In many of the more primitive orders of insect, the immature stages are spent in an aquatic environment. The alimentary canal directs food unidirectionally from the mouth to the anus. Although pest insects attract the most attention, many insects are beneficial to the environment and to humans. Among social insects, queen termites may live for up to 50 years, whereas some adult mayflies live less than two hours. Insects or Insecta (from Latin insectum) are hexapod invertebrates and the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million de… vierecki. Many insects are parasites of other insects such as the parasitoid wasps. The evolutionary relationship of insects to other animal groups remains unclear. Some insects advertise their presence to the other sex by flashing lights, and many imitate other insects in colour and form and thus avoid or minimize attack by predators that feed by day and find their prey visually, as do birds, lizards, and other insects. Is the Coronavirus Crisis Increasing America's Drug Overdoses? [59]:880, For males, the reproductive system is the testis, suspended in the body cavity by tracheae and the fat body. Food safety laws in many countries do not prohibit insect parts in food, but rather limit their quantity. With each molt, nymphs grow larger and become more similar in appearance to adult insects. Insecta sensu strictissimo is then equivalent to Pterygota. While other animals are included as pollinators, the majority of pollination is done by insects. Envaginations at the anterior end of the hindgut form the Malpighian tubules, which form the main excretory system of insects. Some species in Hemiptera, such as the corixids (water boatmen), are known to communicate via underwater sounds. [111], Insects are the only group of invertebrates to have developed flight. Their numbers are nothing short of remarkable — both in terms of how many individual insects there are, as well as how many species of insects there are. The study of fossilized insects is called paleoentomology. In a popular sense, “insect” usually refers to familiar pests or disease carriers, such as bedbugs, houseflies, clothes moths, Japanese beetles, aphids, mosquitoes, fleas, horseflies, and hornets, or to conspicuous groups, such as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Some species of wasp always provide five, others twelve, and others as high as twenty-four caterpillars per cell. Many species of insects have reduced numbers of ganglia due to fusion or reduction. However, upon closer examination, their features differ significantly; most noticeably, they do not have the six-legged characteristic of adult insects. The single greatest characteristic is that all adult insects possess six pairs of legs. A portion of the vas deferens is often enlarged to form the seminal vesicle, which stores the sperm before they are discharged into the female. This worm-like form can be one of several varieties: eruciform (caterpillar-like), scarabaeiform (grub-like), campodeiform (elongated, flattened and active), elateriform (wireworm-like) or vermiform (maggot-like). Insects can live on land, in the water or both and are cold-blooded creatures that require the sun to warm them. Insects are cold blooded and have six legs, three main body parts and an exoskeleton. In 2008, researchers at Tufts University uncovered what they believe is the world's oldest known full-body impression of a primitive flying insect, a 300-million-year-old specimen from the Carboniferous period. [97] Some otherwise palatable moths have evolved to mimic these calls. The use of scents is especially well known to have developed in social insects. The tough and flexible endocuticle is built from numerous layers of fibrous chitin and proteins, criss-crossing each other in a sandwich pattern, while the exocuticle is rigid and hardened. [47] Declines in insect abundance have been attributed to artificial lighting,[48] land use changes such as urbanization or agricultural use,[49][50] pesticide use,[51] and invasive species. The insect outer skeleton, the cuticle, is made up of two layers: the epicuticle, which is a thin and waxy water resistant outer layer and contains no chitin, and a lower layer called the procuticle. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs. [80] Polymorphism is where a species may have different morphs or forms, as in the oblong winged katydid, which has four different varieties: green, pink and yellow or tan. Insects are consumed as food in 80% of the world's nations, by people in roughly 3000 ethnic groups. In discontinuous gas exchange, however, the insect takes in oxygen while it is active and small amounts of carbon dioxide are released when the insect is at rest. The silkworm has greatly affected human history, as silk-driven trade established relationships between China and the rest of the world. [102] The mechanisms of production of vibrational signals are just as diverse as those for producing sound in insects. [53] Though ecologist Manu Sanders notes the 2019 review was biased by mostly excluding data showing increases or stability in insect population, with the studies limited to specific geographic areas and specific groups of species. Spiracles are located in the pleural area. [129], Another defense that often uses color or shape to deceive potential enemies is mimicry. They obtain their toxicity by sequestering the chemicals from the plants they eat into their own tissues. The abdomen consists of eleven segments, though in a few species of insects, these segments may be fused together or reduced in size.

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