Introduction to Insects
Outline
• Insects belong to the kingdom Animalia
• Insects are also put into the phylum
Arthropoda
Arthropoda
Arthropods are made up of five(5) main
classes of animals
Class Crustacea (Crustaceans)
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Class Diplopoda (Millipedes)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Arthropods
Arthropods constitute the largest phylum in the animal
kingdom
Features of Arthropods
They have exoskeleton made of chitin
They have metameric segmented body
They have jointed appendages that are attached to
each other
They have open circulation (Haemocilic)
They are bilaterally symmetrical
They grow by molting
They are triploblastic coelomate
Arthropods
Wood louse Lobster
Crab
Insect
Water flea Barnacles
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Class Diplopoda (Millipedes)
Class Arachnida
Mite
scorpions
Tick
Class Insecta (Insects)
dragonfly Cockroach Housefly
Mosquito Grasshopper Praying matis
Beetle
General Features or Characteristics of Insects
They have an exoskeleton made up of
chitin.
Their body is divided into three parts;
head, thorax and abdomen.
They have compound eyes.
They have a pair of antennae.
They have three pairs of legs attached
to the thorax.
Exoskeleton
It is the hard thick body cover of arthropods made
up of chitin.
It is called cuticles
Cuticles are made up of hard plates of chitin
connected with soft strips of cuticles to allow
movement.
The hard plates of chitins are called sclerites.
There are three types of sclerites.
Ventral plate of chitin called sternum (pl= sterna)
Dorsal plate of chitin called tergum (pl= terga)
Dateral plate only found in the thorax called
pleurum (pl= pleura)
Exoskeleton
Function of Exoskeleton of Insects
It protects the insect against mechanical
injury
It prevent evaporation of water from the
insects body
It protects the insects against bacteria
infection
It provides the insect with shape or support
It helps the insect to move
Exoskeleton
Advantage of Exoskeleton over
Endoskeleton
It protects against mechanical injury and
desiccation
Disadvantage of Exoskeleton
It restrict the growth , hence the
organism(insect) only grows by shedding
off old exoskeleton (Ecdysis)
Exoskeleton
Ecdysis/ Moulting
It is the periodic shedding of or away of
the exoskeleton to enable growth to take
place.
It occurs mainly during the
developmental stage of hatching stage to
adult stage
Importance or Significance of Moulting
It enables an organism to grow.
Ecdysis of Cicada
Insect Body Plan
Head
Thorax
Abdomen
Insect Body Plan
Abdomen Thorax Head
Insect Body Plan: Head
The head of insects may be elongated
(as in cockroaches) or triangular as in
grasshopper and praying mantis
The head bears a pair of compound
eyes
The head also bears a pair of sensitive
feelers called antennae
The head also bears mouthparts either
for biting, chewing or sucking
Head:Antennae
Antennae are jointed feelers that are
sensitive to touch, smell and vibration
Types of Antennae
• Clubbed or coiled ends as in butterfly
• Long or short
• Bent as in weevils or straight as in
grasshopper
• The ends are enlarged or tapering
Head: Mouthparts
Biting/Chewing Mouthparts
As found in Cockroaches and grasshoppers
It has upper lip, lower lip and three pairs of jaws
Upper lip is called Labrum
Lower lip is called Labium
The fist pair of jaw is called Mandibles - biting
The 2nd pair of jaws is called first Maxillae - biting
The 3rd pair of jaws is called Second Maxillae
The base of the 2nd maxillae are joined to form the
labium
Jointed structures called maxillary pals are attached
Functions of the Mouthparts
I. Maxillary and labial palps help insects
to choose suitable food
II. Maxillae pick up food to the mandibles
III. Mandibles are used for biting and
chewing food
IV. Labrum holds the food
V. Labium prevents food from leaving the
mandibles
Sucking and Piercing Mouthparts
It is found in mosquitoes, Aphids, Cotton Stainer,
weevils
The labium encloses and protects other mouthparts
It bends backwards and is used for biting
Mandible and maxillae are modified into stylets
which are sharp and are used for piercing the skin
during biting
The stylets have sucking and saliva tubes
Sucking tubes are for sucking blood or juice
Salivary tube secretes saliva to prevent clotting of
blood
Sucking Mouthparts
• This mouthpart is found in butterflies
and Moths
• It includes labium, labrum, mandibles
and maxillae
• A pair of maxillae is modified into a
long hollow flexible tube called
proboscis
• The proboscis is used for sucking nectar
Insect Body Plan: Thorax
The thorax consist of three segments
prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax
A pair of jointed legs are attached to the
ventral surface of each thoracic segment.
The mesothorax and the metathorax each
bear a pair of wings at the dorsal surface if
ONLY present
Insect Body Plan: Thorax
Types of Wings
Membranous wings as found in dragonfly, honey
bee, mosquito, termite
Hairy wings
Scaly wings as found in butterflies and moths
Leathery wings as found in grasshopper, locust and
crickets
Horny wings as found in beetles and weevils
Hind wings which are attached to the metathorax
and fore wings are attached to mesothorax
Insect Body Plan: Thorax
Three pairs of legs are found in insects
Each pair of legs is attached to each thoracic
segment
Each leg is made up of five parts [Coxa, trochanter,
Femur, Tibia, Tarsus]
Sensory Organs in Insects
Cerci to detect vibration
Tympanum to detect vibration eg. In
Grasshopper
A pair of antennae to detect smell, touch
and vibration
A pair of compound eyes for sight
(compound eyes are made with simple
eyes called ommatida)
Three simple eyes called ocelli
Life Processes in Insects: Respiration
Air passes though openings
called spiracles located on the
abdominal segments.
The spiracles are continuous with
inner tubes called trachea.
Trachea branches into tracheoles
where gaseous exchange occurs
Life Processes in Insects: Excretion
Excretory or waste products in insects are
CO2 which diffuses through the body
surface and also through the tracheal
system
Nitrogenous waste which is absorbed
by malphigian tubules and converted
into uric acid for elimination with
feaces
Life Processes in Insects: Reproduction
Reproduction is sexual in most
insects
But some insects such as aphids, bees
and some species of cockroaches
reproduces by parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is the type of
reproduction in which unfertilized
eggs developed into sterile
individuals
Fertilization is internal
Insects are oviparous (they lay eggs)
Reproductive structures in males are styles and
aedeagus
Aedegus is used to introduce sperm into the female
The life cycle involves metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is the development or changes that
an organism undergoes from egg stage to adult
stage.
There are two types of metamorphosis i.e. complete
& incomplete metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis occurs in insects, amphibians,
crustaceans, molluscs and cnidarians
Complete Metamorposis
Complete metamorphosis is the type of
life cycle with a complete change form
involving four main stages namely Egg,
Larva, Pupa & Adult stage
• Examples of insects that undergo
complete metamorphosis are Butterfly,
Housefly, Moth, Mosquito, Honey bee,
beetles, wasps, grain weevils
Incomplete Metamorposis
• Incomplete metamorphosis is the type of
life cycle with an insect developing
through three stages; egg, nymph and
adult stage
• Examples of insects that undergo
incomplete metamorphosis are
cockroaches, grasshopper, termite, aphids,
dragonfly, praying mantis, crickets, locust
Difference Between Complete And Incomplete
Metamorphosis In Tabular Form
BASIS OF COMPLETE INCOMPLETE
COMPARISON METAMORPHOSIS METAMORPHOSIS
Incomplete
Complete metamorphosis metamorphosis refers
refers to a type of insect to a type of insect
development whose egg, development where
Description
larva, pupal, and adult gradual changes occur
stages differ greatly in in the insect during the
morphology. development from egg
to the adult.
Incomplete
Complete metamorphosis
metamorphosis
consists of four stages:
Stages consists of three
egg, larva, pupa, and
stages: egg, nymph,
adult.
and adult.
Incomplete metamorphosis
Complete metamorphosis consists
consists of a nymph, which
Main Feature of a very active, ravenously eating
resembles a miniature
larva and an inactive pupa.
adult.
Certain portions of the
The exoskeleton of the insect is exoskeleton of the insect
Exoskeleton completely molted during the remains throughout the
complete metamorphosis. lifetime in incomplete
metamorphosis.
Some of the former stages of
Final stage of the insect becomes
the insect are reproductively
Stages reproductively successful in
successful in incomplete
complete metamorphosis.
metamorphosis.
Incomplete metamorphosis
Complete metamorphosis occurs
Examples occurs in termites, praying
in wasps, ants, and fleas.
mantis, and cockroaches.
Communication in Insects
Insects communicates with one another by
Motions or dances
Production of chemicals called pheromones
• Sounds
• Contact and smell
• Visual signals
Communication helps insects in reproduction,
information about food and for defense
Defense Mechanism in Insects
Insects defend themselves by
• Stinging e.g. bees and wasps
• Mimicking other insects or objects e.g.
stick insect, bees
• Camouflaging themselves with their
environment
• Production of poisonous chemicals e.g.
larvae of some insects
Economic Importance of Insects
Some insects are vectors of diseases
Most insects are agents of pollination
Some insects improve soil fertility
through aeration and humus formation
Some insects are pests
Some serve as source of food
Some are used as biological control of
pests
Insects Arachnids
• 3 body regions • 2 body regions
• 1 pair of antennae • No antennae
• 3 pair of legs • 4 pair of legs
• 2 pair of wings • No wings
Insects rule the world!
• There are more insects
than all other plants and
animals combined
• There are more than 1
million different species
• 1 out of every 5 animals
is a beetle!
Why are insects so successful?
• Small size
• Multigenerational
• Flight
• Metamorphosis
• Wide variety in food
choices
• Wide variety in habitat
resources
© Marlin E. Rice
Insects eat everything
• Carnivore, animal matter
• Herbivore, plant matter
• Omnivore, plant and animal matter
• Detrivore, organic matter
• Saprophore, decaying matter
How to ID insects: wings
beetle true bug grasshopper earwig
© Marlin E. Rice © Marlin E. Rice L. Jesse
wasp butterfly fly
© Marlin E. Rice
L. Jesse
L. Jesse
How to ID insects: mouthparts
Piercing-sucking: Sponging: Siphoning:
mosquitoes, true bugs house fly butterflies, moths
Chewing:
grasshoppers,
beetles,
praying mantis
Images on this page from R. Bessin, University of Kentucky
How to ID insects: antennae
[Link]
How to ID insects: legs
grasping pollen-carrying
walking
L. Jesse
L. Jesse
swimming and
grasping
digging jumping
Paul M. Choate, University of Florida
© Marlin E. Rice
Summary
• There are many keys to help in the accurate
identification of insects
• Wings, antennae, legs, mouthparts
© Marlin E. Rice
