Insects
Insects
Arthropods (segmented body, exoskeleton, and
jointed appendages)
• Invertebrates
Insects
Insect Anatomy
• 3 body segments
– Head – with a pair of
antennae and two eyes
(usually compoundeffective at detecting
movement)
– Thorax – with 6 legs and
usually 2 pairs of wings
– Abdomen – contains most
of the insects organs
• Contains small tubes that
allow air to enter the body;
oxygen then travels
directly to the cells.
Insect Anatomy
• Exoskeleton – outer
covering (made of
protein and chitin) that
supports and protects
the body
Insect Nutrition
• Nutrition – various
diets for different
insects:
– Plants/plant products
– Animals (ex. fleas and
mosquitoes)
– Decaying animal
bodies (ex. Carrion
beetles) or animal
waste (ex. Dung
beetle)
Insect Feeding
• Mouthparts are adapted to type of food:
– Butterfly has long tube to “drink” nectar
– Ants have sharp mouthparts for cutting wood and seeds
Insect Senses
• Good senses (in
addition to compound
eyes)
– Chemical receptors on
mouthparts, antennae,
and legs to detect taste
and smell
– Hairs on legs detect
slight movements in air
or water
Insect Life Cycles
• Development (life
cycle)metamorphosis- two
types:
– Incomplete (ex.
Grasshopper)
• Egg  nymph  adult
Insect Life Cycles
– Complete (ex.
Butterfly)
• Egg  larvae
(caterpillar)  pupa
(cocoon)  adult
(butterfly)
Beware the Bot Fly!
Bot flies use
mosquitos to
carry their eggs
to a host. The
mosquitos inject
the host with the
eggs. Eggs grow
to maturity
underneath the
skin.
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