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an exoskeleton, bi-lateral symmetry, jointed appendages, segmented bodies, and specialized appendages

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Arthros: joint
Podium: foot

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Arthropods are invertebrates: an animal lacking a backbone. Invertebrate have exoskeletons which are a rigid external covering for the body for protection and support.

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The phylum Arthropoda is commonly divided into four subphyla of extant forms: Chelicerata (arachnids), Crustacea (crustaceans), Hexapoda (insects and springtails), and Myriapoda (millipedes and centipedes).

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Arthropods are unusual among invertebrates; they lack locomotory cilia, even as larvae. The problem that a rigid external covering imposes on movement has been solved by having the exoskeleton divided into plates over the body and through a series of cylinders around the appendages. At the junction, or joints, between the plates and cylinders the exoskeleton is thin and flexible because it lacks the exocuticle and because it is folded. The folds provide additional surface area as the joints are bent. The arthropod's exoskeleton is therefore somewhat analogous to the armour encasing a medieval knight.

Most arthropods move by means of their segmental appendages, and the exoskeleton and the muscles, which attach to the inside of the skeleton, act together as a lever system, as is also true in vertebrates. The external skeleton of arthropods is a highly efficient system for small animals. The exoskeleton provides a large surface area for the attachment of muscles and, in addition to functioning in support and movement, also provides protection from the external environment. The cylindrical design resists bending, and only a relatively small amount of skeletal material need be invested in thickness to prevent buckling. The external skeleton imposes limits on the maximum size of an arthropod, especially in those that live on land. The largest arthropods live in the sea, where they gain considerable support from the buoyance of seawater. On land, an excessive amount of skeleton would be required to support a large bulk and, in addition, the new soft skeleton might collapse following a molt.

Appendages of arthropods have been adapted for all types of locomotion-walking, pushing, running, swimming, and burrowing. In most arthropods the legs move alternately on the two sides of the body; i.e., when one leg is in a power stroke, its mate on the opposite side of the body is in the recovery stroke (the same is true of mammals when walking). The legs in front or back are a little ahead or behind in the movement sequence. Because of the lateral position of the legs, the body of an arthropod tends to hang between them. Leg interference and trunk wobble tend to be problems in an animal with a long trunk and many legs, such as a millipede or a centipede. Most arthropods have evolved more-compact bodies and a smaller number of legs. The number of pairs of legs used in walking is not more than seven in pill bugs (terrestrial crustaceans), four or five in shrimps and crabs, four in arachnids, and three in insects. This reduces the problem of mechanical interference. When a ghost crab, for example, is running rapidly across a beach or dune, only the second, third, and fourth pairs of the five pairs of legs (counting the claws) are employed. Leg interference is further reduced in most arthropods by varying limb length and placement. For example, in Scutigera, the centipede commonly seen in houses, the legs increase in length from front to back and thus pass over or under one another in stepping. The tendency for the trunk to wobble has been reduced in some centipedes by having overlapping dorsal plates and in millipedes by having pairs of segments fused to form double segments. Many arthropods are capable of walking on vertical surfaces. Some simply grip minute surface irregularities with the claws at the end of the legs. Others, such as certain spiders and flies, have an array of specialized gripping hairs at the ends of the legs.

Insect wings are not segmental appendages as are the legs. The paired wings arise as lateral folds of the integument, one pair above each of the last two pairs of legs. Each wing thus consists of an upper and lower sheet of exoskeleton closely applied to each other. The two skeletal sheets are separated at various places, forming tubular supporting veins. Unlike the wings of an airplane, the wings of insects are flat plates, and lift is obtained by changing the angle at which the front margin of the wing meets the oncoming air stream. The evolution of flight is one of several adaptations that have enabled insects to become the most diverse and populous group of terrestrial animals.

A burrowing habit has evolved in some insects, such as mole crickets and ants, but the largest burrowers are crustaceans. Mole crabs and box crabs are rapid burrowers in soft marine sands, and various species of mantis shrimps, mud shrimps, and snapping shrimps create elaborate burrows below the bottom surface. Crustaceans also include the largest number of arthropod tube dwellers, surpassed only by certain marine worms ( polychaetes). Most of the tube-dwelling crustaceans are amphipods. Their tubes are usually composed of sand or mud particles secreted together and attached to bottom objects; there are, however, some amphipods that carry their tubes with them like a portable house.

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arthropod - Muscles, appendages, and locomotion

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arthropod - arthropod - Muscles, appendages, and locomotion: Arthropods are unusual among invertebrates; they lack locomotory cilia, even as larvae. The problem that a rigid external covering imposes on movement has been solved by having the exoskeleton divided into plates over the body and through a series of cylinders around the appendages.

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elongated and metameric with one pair of legs per body segment. They have long antennae and their first pair of legs is modified into venomous claws to help them capture and paralyze their prey.

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a class of myriapod arthropods which comprises the centipedes.

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centipede, (class Chilopoda), any of various long, flattened, many-segmented predaceous arthropods. Each segment except the hindmost bears one pair of legs.

Centipedes generally remain under stones, bark, and ground litter by day. At night they hunt for and capture other small invertebrates. They move rapidly on from 14 to 177 pairs of legs and have one pair of long, many-jointed antennae and a pair of jawlike, venomous claws just behind the head.

The 25-mm (1-inch)-long house centipede (order Scutigerida, or Scutigeromorpha) of Europe and North America is the only one common in dwellings. It has a short, striped body and 15 pairs of very long legs. Other centipedes have shorter, hooklike legs. In some species the last pair is pincerlike.

Soil centipedes (order Geophilomorpha) are burrowers that dig by alternately expanding and contracting the body, in the manner of earthworms. The order Scolopendrida, or Scolopendromorpha, of the tropics contains the largest centipedes, with Scolopendra gigantea of the American tropics reaching a length of 280 mm (11 inches). These forms are capable of inflicting severe bites. Scolopendrids, as well as the geophilids, have relatively slow and sinuous movements.

The little stone centipedes (order Lithobiomorpha) are short-bodied. They, like the house centipedes, run with the body held straight and are the fastest moving centipedes.

There are nearly 3,000 known species. Centipedes are often grouped with the millipedes (class Diplopoda) and some other minor groups into the superclass Myriopoda.

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Centipede, any of various long, flattened, many-segmented predaceous arthropods. Each segment except the hindmost bears one pair of legs. They move rapidly on from 14 to 177 pairs of legs and have one pair of long, many-joined antennae and a pair of jawlike, venomous claws just behind the head.

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species with elongated, cylindrical bodies with many segments, and with two pairs of jointed appendages on each body segment except the first few and the last.

Unlike the similar and closely related centipedes (Class Chilopoda), which are fast-moving and predatory, millipedes are detritivores, slow, and nonvenomous.

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Diplopoda: double foot
Myriapoda: myriad foot

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have three regions to the body (head, thorax and abdomen). In some forms these are not clear in the adult. They usually have a number of pairs of legs on the thorax. Some have a small number - e.g. crabs have four pairs. Generally, the abdomen also has limbs which are often involved in locomotion.

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Barnacles.
Mantis Shrimps.
Prawns & Shrimps.
Cleaning Shrimps & allies.
Lobsters & Spiny Crayfish.
Mud & Coral 'Lobsters'
Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters & allies.
Crabs.

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One of the most familiar crustaceans is the Woodlouse, Porcellio scaber.

Crustaceans have three regions to the body ( head, thorax and abdomen). In some forms these are not clear in the adult. They usually have a number of pairs of legs on the thorax. Some have a small number - e.g. crabs have four pairs. Generally, the abdomen also has limbs which are often involved in locomotion.

Most crustaceans are aquatic, only a small number live on land, e.g. woodlice. Other members of the group are lobsters, prawns, shrimps and barnacles. There are also many small forms, and larvae (known as Zoea), in plankton.

General structure of a crustacean

Previous: Millipedes | Next: Arachnids

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Introduction to crustaceans - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)

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One of the most familiar crustaceans is the Woodlouse, Porcellio scaber. Crustaceans have three regions to the body ( head, thorax and abdomen). In some forms these are not clear in the adult. They usually have a number of pairs of legs on the thorax. Some have a small number - e.g.

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have two regions to the body. The front (or anterior) part is called the cephalothorax or prosoma. The rear (posterior) part is called the abdomen or opisthosoma. There are four pairs of walking legs on the prosoma in adult arachnids (but larval mites only have three pairs).

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Spiders
Mites
Ticks

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A common sight in British gardens, a Wolf spider ( Pardosa sp.).

Arachnids have two regions to the body. The front (or anterior) part is called the cephalothorax or prosoma. The rear (posterior) part is called the or opisthosoma. There are four pairs of walking legs on the prosoma in adult arachnids (but larval mites only have three pairs).

Arachnids generally feed by sucking fluids from the bodies of other organisms. Hence they tend to be predatory or parasitic, though there are exceptions. The group includes:

General structure of an arachnid

Previous: Crustaceans | Next: Insects

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Introduction to arachnids - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)

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A common sight in British gardens, a Wolf spider ( Pardosa sp.). Arachnids have two regions to the body. The front (or anterior) part is called the cephalothorax or prosoma. The rear (posterior) part is called the or opisthosoma. There are four pairs of walking legs on the prosoma in adult arachnids (but larval mites only have three pairs).

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Two pairs of wings of similar size and have a dark mark, or pterostigma, near the tip of each. Long and slender abdomens, Large heads. Very large compound eyes and Small, hair-like antennae.

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Hypognathous (Hypo – Below: Gnathous – Jaw )
Orthopteroid type.. Eg: Grass hopper, Cockroach.
Prognathous : (Pro – infront: Gnathous – Jaw )
This is also kwown as Coleopteroid type..Eg: beetles.

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prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax

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A male Common Blue Damselfly ( Enallagma cyathigerum)

The Order Odonata, or dragonflies and damselflies, contains some of the most beautiful and conspicuous insects in Britain. During the summertime, the swift flight of our larger species and their exquisite colouration are bound to attract our attention. Many stretches of water, such as lakes, rivers, ponds and marshes, will attract some of these large insects which can be seen on the wing during the warm sunny days of summer. As such, they are amongst our most well known invertebrates.

Many of our native species are large, whilst even the smaller more fragile species are still large enough for us to appreciate their beauty without the need for magnification.

Nymphs of most species are reasonably easy to rear in their later stages, and the nymphs are fascinating to observe. The equipment needed for the study of these insects is simple and usually inexpensive.

The number of British species is sufficiently small, totalling just 45, to also be of interest to those who study other larger groups of insect.

The Odonata are amongst the oldest groups of insects known, and are not closely related to any other existing Order. The largest known insect is the fossil dragonfly Meganeura monyi, which had a wingspan of approximately 30 cm.

Main characteristics of Dragonflies and Damselflies

Two pairs of wings of similar size and have a dark mark, or pterostigma, near the tip of each.

Long and slender abdomens

Large heads

Very large compound eyes

Small, hair-like antennae

A photograph of an adult male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly ( Libellula depressa)

Life-cycle

1. The small yellowish eggs are laid directly in to the water or inserted in to water plants, floating debris or mud. The males of many species help by holding on to the females and then pulling them up in to the air again.

2. The aquatic nymphs take from one to five years to complete their development, according to species. Like the adults, they are carnivorous, preying upon many forms of aquatic fauna. Prey is caught in large pincer-like extensions of their lower lip, known as the 'mask'.

3. When fully grown, the nymph becomes restless, ceases feeding and eventually selects a suitable plant stem and crawls out of the water, settling down well clear of the surface. Eventually, the skin splits along the back and the adult insect struggles out, usually at night or very early morning. Soon the wings begin to expand, once dried, the adult is ready for flight. Full colouration usually does not take place until a few days has elapsed. Adult Odonata can be found from April until November, with the life span of an individual lasting no more than a few weeks.

4. Adult Odonata are exclusively entomophagous (they eat insects), catching their prey on the wing, and will seize anything small enough for them to tackle.

5. Mating takes place either on the ground or amongst foliage, according to the species. The male seizes the female by the back of the neck or hear with special anal appendages, whilst the female curves her abdomen round so that her pairing apparatus can make contact with his, under his second abdominal segment.

There are 2 sub-orders found in the British Isles:

The Anisoptera, or dragonflies, are characterised by having the hindwing noticeably broader at the base than the forewing. In addition, the eyes meet on top of the head with the exception of one species and they rest with their wings stretched out flat.

The Zygoptera, or damselflies, are smaller more fragile insects with similar fore and hindwings, have widely separated eyes, and rest with their wings folded over their abdomens.

Collecting adults is best undertaken with the use of a large net on a long handle. Being very able flyers, this will need skill and agility, or considerable luck. Capture is best affected from above and behind. They are usually pinned and set in the same way as Lepidoptera if a collection of set specimens is needed - excellent identification guides have been published and this means that collection is usually unnecessary.

Nymphs are collected by a specific water or pond net, sweeping through submerged vegetation and debris and then searching through the contents of the net. Unwanted items and debris should be returned to the water, and the nymphs taken home in water tight containers. Another way to obtain nymphs, for a dried collection, is to collect the empty nymphal skins left after the adult has emerged. These can be found by searching suitable bankside vegetation.

Even some eminent scientists can be surprised by the size of some adult dragonflies as this quote from Richard Feynman, physicist and Nobel laureate, shows:

So one day I was on the beach, and I'd just read this book that said dragonflies don't sting. A darning needle (dragonfly) came along, and everybody was screaming and running around, and I just sat there.

"Don't worry!" I said. "Darning needles don't sting!"

The thing landed on my foot. Everybody was yelling and it was a big mess, because this darning needle was sitting on my foot. And there I was, this scientific wonder, saying it wasn't going to sting me. You're sure this is a story that's going to come out that it stings me - but it didn't. The book was right. But I did sweat a bit.

Related links: Dragonflies and Damselflies (Order: Odonata)

Back to Insect Orders.

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Dragonflies and Damselflies (Order: Odonata)

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A male Common Blue Damselfly ( Enallagma cyathigerum) The Order Odonata, or dragonflies and damselflies, contains some of the most beautiful and conspicuous insects in Britain. During the summertime, the swift flight of our larger species and their exquisite colouration are bound to attract our attention.

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Mantids are medium to large insects (10 - 200mm) with large raptorial (adapted for the seizing prey) fore legs. The fore legs have rows of spines along the femur and tibia and these are used to grasp prey. Mantids have a very mobile head that is triangular in shape. They have two very large compound eyes

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Insects have three pairs of legs (6 individual legs).

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Most insects have two pairs of wings.

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The brightly coloured larvae of the Mullein Moth, Shargacucullia verbasci.

Insects are arguably the most numerous life form on the planet in terms of number of species. There are roughly one million described species of insect and experts estimate that there are probably between five to six million species yet to be identified.

The structure of insects has allowed them to exploit niches in almost all the habitats of the world. In this section we examine insects in more detail, focusing not only on their body structure but life cycles and providing fact files on all the major groups (Orders) of insects. There is also a general overview of the structure of insects in the What bug is this? section.

This section includes information on:-

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Insect fact files - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)

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Information on insects, arguably the most numerous life form on the planet in terms of number of species. There are roughly one million described species of insect and experts estimate that there are probably between five to six million species yet to be identified.

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Insects take in Oxygen and expel Carbon Dioxide using a series of internal air tubes, the tracheae. These pass fine branches, the tracheoles, to all parts of the body. From the main trunks, tracheoles pass throughout the body. The tracheae open to the air at the paired spiracles. In most insects there is one pair per segment in the thorax and also in the first nine abdominal segments.

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Most insects have two types of eyes, simple and compound. A simple eye is a very small eye made of just one lens. Compound eyes are the large, bulging eyes on each side of an insect's head, made of many (sometimes thousands) small lenses. Each contains a lens and a cone that funnels light to a photosensitive organ kind of like human eyes.

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Insects have one pair of antennae. The antennae are often called 'feelers' because the insect waves them around. This is a wrong name because they are not only used for touch. The antennae are actually the insects 'nose' - they are used for the sense of smell. There are 9 common types of antennae: filiform, setaceous, moniliform, serrate, pectinate, clavate, lamellate, geniculate, and plumose.

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The brightly coloured larvae of the Mullein Moth, Shargacucullia verbasci.

Insects are arguably the most numerous life form on the planet in terms of number of species. There are roughly one million described species of insect and experts estimate that there are probably between five to six million species yet to be identified.

The structure of insects has allowed them to exploit niches in almost all the habitats of the world. In this section we examine insects in more detail, focusing not only on their body structure but life cycles and providing fact files on all the major groups (Orders) of insects. There is also a general overview of the structure of insects in the What bug is this? section.

This section includes information on:-

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Insect fact files - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)

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Information on insects, arguably the most numerous life form on the planet in terms of number of species. There are roughly one million described species of insect and experts estimate that there are probably between five to six million species yet to be identified.

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The antennae are often called 'feelers' because the insect waves them around. This is a wrong name because they are not only used for touch. The antennae are actually the insects 'nose' - they are used for the sense of smell.

The paired antennae are made up of a number of individual joints. This means they can be very mobile. The basic form of antenna is filiform. In this type there are many segments that are more or less equal in size. Filiform antennae are seen in a wide variety of groups, such as Dragonflies, Grasshoppers and Crickets, Book Lice, Biting Lice, Scorpion Flies and Beetles. The length and number of joints varies much between them.

Filiform antennae

This is the most basic form of insect antennae.

Illustration of filiform antennae.

This basic structure is modified in a wide variety of ways. This means that a number of different types may be recognised. The main ones are as follows:-

1. Setaceous - There are many joints. The antenna tapers gradually from the base to the tip e.g. Bristletails, Cockroaches, Mayflies, Stoneflies and Caddisflies.

2. Moniliform - The round segments make the antenna look like a string of beads e.g. Beetles.

3. Serrate - the segments are angled on one side giving the appearance of a saw edge e.g. Beetles.

4. Pectinate - The segments are longer on one side. This gives the appearance of a comb e.g. Sawflies (related to wasps) and Beetles.

5. Clavate - the segments become wider towards the tip of the antenna. This may be gradual along its length, or a sudden increase and therefore mainly affecting the last few joints and giving the appearance of a club e.g. Butterflies & Moths and Beetles.

6. Lamellate - the segments towards the end are flattened and plate-like. This gives the appearance of a fan e.g. Beetles

7. Geniculate - there is an abrupt bend or elbow part of the way along the antenna e.g. Ants and Beetles.

8. Plumose - the segments each have a number of fine thread-like branches. This gives the appearance of a feather e.g. Flies.

The antennae of the Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera are very variable. These groups show examples of a number of different antenna types. All the examples quoted are from insect groups with British representatives. Where groups have no British representatives, they have not been detailed above.

Previous: Insect fact files | Next: Wings

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The antennae are often called 'feelers' because the insect waves them around. This is a wrong name because they are not only used for touch. The antennae are actually the insects 'nose' - they are used for the sense of smell. The paired antennae are made up of a number of individual joints.

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Labrum - a cover which may be loosely referred to as the upper lip.
Mandibles - hard, powerful cutting jaws.
Maxillae - 'pincers' which are less powerful than the mandibles. They are used to steady and manipulate the food. They have a five segmented palp which is sensory and often concerned with taste.
Labium - the lower cover, often referred to as the lower lip. It actually represents the fused pair of ancestral second maxillae. They have a three segmented palp which is also sensory.
Hypopharynx - a tongue-like structure in the floor of the mouth. The salivary glands discharge saliva through it.

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Honey bee - the mandibles are very small and suitable for moulding wax, the labium is curved downwards and inwards forming a tube used for sucking up nectar.

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Butterflies and Moths - the mandibles have disappeared altogether. The maxillae are elongate, channelled along their surfaces and held together by hooks and spines to form a sucking tube. This proboscis may be very long, when not in use is carried coiled up like a watch spring under the head.

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Diving beetle larvae - have a piercing and sucking arrangement. The mandibles are each curved over to form an almost closed groove along their inner surface. The prey is caught and pierced by the mandibles. Digestive juices are pumped down the groove. The food is made into a liquid. This semi-digested soup is sucked back up again through the groove.

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True bugs - these also have a piercing and sucking arrangement. The labium is elongated and acts as a sheath. This encloses the mandibles and maxillae which are modified as stylets for piercing. The maxillae have two tubes running along their length on the inside surface. 'Saliva' may be pumped down one of the tubes. This saliva makes the food into a liquid. The liquified food is sucked up the other tube.

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House-fly - the proboscis shows a capillary mechanism. The labium is elongated and forms two lobes at the tip. These lobes have a series of fine tubes (pseudotracheae). The hypopharynx runs down the proboscis and digestive juices pass down this onto the food. The food is made into a liquid by these juices. This liquid is then drawn up the pseudotracheae by capillary action.

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????? Are they all the same???

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The biting mouthparts of an adult damselfly make short work of an aphid.

The 'primitive' arrangement of mouthparts is seen in the cockroach - here they are used for biting. There are five different structures which are used for the initial collection and processing of food:-

What are the different parts for?

1. Labrum - a cover which may be loosely referred to as the upper lip.

2. Mandibles - hard, powerful cutting jaws.

3. Maxillae - 'pincers' which are less powerful than the mandibles. They are used to steady and manipulate the food. They have a five segmented palp which is sensory and often concerned with taste.

4. Labium - the lower cover, often referred to as the lower lip. It actually represents the fused pair of ancestral second maxillae. They have a three segmented palp which is also sensory.

5. Hypopharynx - a tongue-like structure in the floor of the mouth. The salivary glands discharge saliva through it.

This system remains little changed in all insects which chew their food, both larvae and adults. Where specialised food sources have been exploited, the mouthparts are modified, sometimes very considerably, so that the food may be obtained satisfactorily. Insect mouth parts show many cases of parallel evolution, the same end being independently achieved along similar, but not identical lines. Many insects take in liquid food. This is facilitated by the development of a sucking' arrangement from the mouthparts.

Mouthpart modifications

1. Honey bee - the mandibles are very small and suitable for moulding wax, the labium is curved downwards and inwards forming a tube used for sucking up nectar.

2. Butterflies and Moths - the mandibles have disappeared altogether. The maxillae are elongate, channelled along their surfaces and held together by hooks and spines to form a sucking tube. This proboscis may be very long, when not in use is carried coiled up like a watch spring under the head.

3. Diving beetle larvae - have a piercing and sucking arrangement. The mandibles are each curved over to form an almost closed groove along their inner surface. The prey is caught and pierced by the mandibles. Digestive juices are pumped down the groove. The food is made into a liquid. This semi-digested soup is sucked back up again through the groove.

4. True bugs - these also have a piercing and sucking arrangement. The labium is elongated and acts as a sheath. This encloses the mandibles and maxillae which are modified as stylets for piercing. The maxillae have two tubes running along their length on the inside surface. 'Saliva' may be pumped down one of the tubes. This saliva makes the food into a liquid. The liquified food is sucked up the other tube.

5. House-fly - the proboscis shows a capillary mechanism. The labium is elongated and forms two lobes at the tip. These lobes have a series of fine tubes (pseudotracheae). The hypopharynx runs down the proboscis and digestive juices pass down this onto the food. The food is made into a liquid by these juices. This liquid is then drawn up the pseudotracheae by capillary action.

Previous: Respiration | Next: Life Cycles

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The biting mouthparts of an adult damselfly make short work of an aphid. The 'primitive' arrangement of mouthparts is seen in the cockroach - here they are used for biting. There are five different structures which are used for the initial collection and processing of food:- Labrum - a cover which may be loosely referred to as the upper lip.

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Metamorphosis is the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.

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a change in body form with three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Nymph: young stage of insects that undergo a partial metamorphosis; similar to the adult except that wings are not fully developed. Cockroaches and Capsid Bugs are two insects that go through this.

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The type of insect development that includes egg, larva, pupal, and adult stages, which differ greatly in morphology. The lifecycle of butterflies, ants, fleas, bees, beetles, moths, and wasps are examples of the complete metamorphosis.

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Insect life cycles - Amateur Entomologists’ Society (AES)

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Information on insect life cycles. Different groups of insects undergo one of two different types of life cycle: complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis.

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We need classification because names differ across countries and there are often multiple kinds of each named insect (ex: dragonfly, beetle). Another problem is that animals that are rarely or never seen won't have an everyday name. Classification creates unique names for each insect and shows how they are related to each other.

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A group of closely related species. The genus name is written first and begins with a capital letter. The specific (or species) name is written second. It does not have a capital letter. Sometimes the species is named after someone. In these cases, the name may begin with a capital letter. The words used for the names were generally in Latin, the language of science and learning at the time. To make it stand out, the name was underlined when written. When typesetting a book, the printer will put underlined words into italics.

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The binomial system of naming species uses Latin words. Each name has two parts, the genus, and the species. The binomial system is important because it allows scientists to accurately identify individual species. The Latin for 2 is "bi" (e.g. a bicycle has 2 wheels). A Latin term for name is "nome". If these two words are put together, we have the word "binomial". Hence, the two-name system devised by von Linné became known as the "Binomial naming system".

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The common name refers to the colloquial name of a taxon or species. It is the name known to the general public or is based on any language other than that of zoological nomenclature (latin). It is different from the scientific name, which is the name assigned to a species and is based on the system of binomial system.

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Insect classification - Amateur Entomologists’ Society (AES)

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Information on insect classification. How do different scientists, located all over the world, know they are talking about the same insect species?

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Broad-winged Damselflies are given their name because their wings are not abruptly narrowed or stalked near the base, as are the wings of other damselflies. The body color of these damselflies is often metallic. The eyes are black in males and brown in females. They have a skipping flight similar to that of butterflies.

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The Jewelwings (genus Calopteryx) have iridescent bodies which usually appear green but have blue reflections at certain angles. The males lack stigmas and the females have white stigmas. The Jewelwings are the only North American damselflies with a courtship display.

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Nebraska Dragonflies and Damselflies

Calopterygidae Family

Broad-winged Damselflies are so called because their wings are not abruptly narrowed or stalked near the base, as are the wings of other damselflies. The body color of these damselflies is often metallic. The eyes are black in males and brown in females. They have a skipping flight similar to that of butterflies. There are three species of Broad-winged Damsels found in Nebraska.

Ebony Jewelwing female

American Rubyspot female. Photo courtesy of Terry Hibbitts.

The Jewelwings (genus Calopteryx) have iridescent bodies which usually appear green but have blue reflections at certain angles. The males lack stigmas and the females have white stigmas. The Jewelwings are the only North American damselflies with a courtship display.

The Rubyspots (genus Hetaerina) are the only North American damselflies with red spots in the wing bases. The males have metallic red or black bodies and the females have metallic green or brown bodies.

To comment on this site: paseka76@gmail.com

To submit a photo for acceptance as a county record, send it to: https://www.odonatacentral.org/app/#/add/

Citation: Paseka, J. M. 2021. Nebraska dragonflies and damselflies. URL http://unsm-ento.unl.edu/Odonata/index.html

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Nebraska Dragonflies and Damselflies Calopterygidae Family Broad-winged Damselflies are so called because their wings are not abruptly narrowed or stalked near the base, as are the wings of other damselflies. The body color of these damselflies is often metallic. The eyes are black in males and brown in females.

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They are sound-producing insects (order Homoptera) that have two pairs of membranous wings, prominent compound eyes, and three simple eyes (ocelli). Cicadas are medium to large in size, ranging from 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2 inches).

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Cicadas have been used in folk medicines, as religious and monetary symbols, and as an important source of food. Their song once was considered to forecast weather changes. In China, male cicadas were caged for their song. The cicada appears in the mythology, literature, and music of many cultures, including that of the Native Americans.

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cicada, (family Cicadidae), family of more than 3,000 species of sound-producing insects. Cicadas are found in tropical and temperate areas worldwide and occur in deserts, grasslands, and forests. Cicadas have long been used in folk medicines, as religious and monetary symbols, and as an important source of food for humans and many other organisms. The cicada appears in the mythology, literature, and music of many cultures, including those of some Indigenous peoples in the Americas, and the males of certain Asian species have even been kept in cages for their melodious songs.

Physical description and song

Cicadas are medium to large insects, ranging in size from 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2 inches). They characteristically have short antennae, two pairs of transparent membranous wings, prominent compound eyes, and three simple eyes (ocelli) that form a triangle between the compound eyes. The insects do not bite or sting. Major species are generally easily recognized by differences in songs, behavior, and morphology.

Male cicadas produce loud noises by vibrating membranes ( tymbals) near the base of the abdomen. Males of each species typically have three distinct sound responses: a congregational song that is regulated by daily weather fluctuations and by songs produced by other males; a courtship song, usually produced prior to copulation; and a disturbance squawk, produced by individuals captured, held, or disturbed into flight. Most North American cicadas produce rhythmical ticks, buzzes, whines, or screams, although in some species the song is musical. Females lack tymbals, though some species use their wings to produce clicking or snapping sounds, often in response to the songs of the males.
(Read Britannica's "Why Are Cicadas So Noisy?")

Life cycle

All cicada species have a life cycle that consists of three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Adult female cicadas usually lay their eggs in woody plant tissues. Newly hatched nymphs burrow into the ground where they suck juices from roots of perennial plants. Nymphs usually undergo five molts during the year or more required to reach maturity. When prompted to emerge-the biology of which is not well understood for long-lived species-mature nymphs often appear aboveground en masse and undergo their final molt on nearby trees. The winged adults live for only a few weeks, just long enough to find a mate and lay eggs. Although not ordinarily considered a pest, the females, if numerous, may damage young saplings during their egg laying.

Major genera and species

A large and diverse group, the cicada family comprises more than 500 genera worldwide. The periodical cicadas ( Magicicada) are among the most fascinating and best-known cicadas. The genus contains seven North American species of 17-year cicadas (often erroneously called 17-year locusts) and 13-year cicadas. In what are among the longest life cycles of any insects, periodical cicadas emerge in spring only every 13 or 17 years, with millions of insects materializing from the soil in a matter of weeks and dying shortly thereafter. These species occur in chronologically and geographically isolated broods.
(Read Britannica's "Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?")
To distinguish them from the periodical cicadas, a number of North American species are known as annual cicadas. These are seen every summer, though their life cycles typically span 2-5 years. Annual cicadas include the dog-day cicadas (genus Neotibicen), scrub cicadas (genus Diceroprocta), several species of the genus Neocicada, and members of the genus Okanagana.

The nearly 60 species of the genus Cicada are found in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. The common, or ash, cicada ( Cicada orni) is one of the most familiar species in Europe. The New Forest cicada ( Cicadetta montana) is the only cicada native to the United Kingdom, where it is considered an endangered species.

The largest cicadas in the world are found in Asia. Members of the genus Megapomponia are large-bodied insects native to Southeast Asia. Included is the empress cicada ( Megapomponia imperatoria), the most massive of all known cicada species, with a superlative body length of about 7 cm (2.8 inches). The only member of its genus, Tacua speciosa can reach more than 5.5 cm (2 inches) in length. The insect is unusual in that its wings are opaque instead of transparent like those of other cicada species.

Two species of hairy cicadas are members of the family Tettigarctidae and are found only in southeastern Australia, including Tasmania.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Melissa Petruzzello

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Cicada | Description, Life Cycle, Sound, Map, & Facts

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Cicadas are a family of about 3,000 species of sound-producing insects. Male cicadas produce loud noises by vibrating membranes (tymbals) near the base of the abdomen. Some North American species occur in large numbers in chronologically and geographically isolated broods.

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slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are predators. Many thrips species are pests of commercially important crops. A few species serve as vectors for over 20 viruses that cause plant disease, especially the Tospoviruses. \

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The first recorded mention of thrips is from the 17th century and a sketch was made by Philippo Bonanni, a Catholic priest, in 1691. Some species of thrips are beneficial as pollinators or as predators of other insects or mites. In the right conditions, such as in greenhouses.

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common name: flower thrips
scientific name:Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

The flower thrips, Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) ( Figure 1) is one of the most abundant species of flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in the eastern United States (Reitz 2008). The official common name established by the Entomological Society of America for this species is flower thrips, although the name flower thrips is often applied generically to the numerous species in the genus Frankliniella that inhabit flowers. For this reason, it is frequently referred to as the eastern flower thrips, presumably for its distribution in the eastern United States.

Several species in the genus Frankliniella are considered economic pests and cause damage to a wide variety of crops through feeding and oviposition (Childers 1997). Several species are able to vector orthotospoviruses (or tospoviruses), including Tomato spotted wilt virus. However, Frankliniella tritici is not a vector of Tomato spotted wilt virus and is considered a pest of secondary importance (de Assis Filho 2005).

Frankliniella tritici may, however, be confused with other similar Frankliniella species in Florida such as Frankliniella bispinosa and Frankliniella occidentalis which are capable vectors of Tomato spotted wilt virus (Riley et al. 2011).

Figure 1. Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) adult. Photograph by James Castner, University of Florida.

According to Hoddle et al. (2012):

Thrips tritici Fitch, 1855

Frankliniella varicorne Bagnall, 1919

Frankliniella fulvus Moulton, 1936

Frankliniella tritici f. clara Moulton, 1948

Frankliniella salicis Moulton, 1948

Frankliniella tritici is native to eastern North America and it is found primarily east of the Rocky Mountains (Cluever and Smith 2016). Frankliniella tritici has also been reported in Asia, the Caribbean and Europe (Cluever and Smith 2016).

Eggs: The eggs of Frankliniella tritici are kidney shaped and approximately 0.4 mm in length (Arthurs et al. 2015). Adult females deposit eggs in plant tissue and may lay up to 17 eggs per day (Reitz 2008).

Larva: Larvae are wingless, yellow and resemble adults. They are elongate and oval and approximately 0.5 mm in length (Cluever and Smith 2016).

Pupa: Propupa have wing buds and the antennae are straight, whereas the pupa has the antennae pulled back over the head (Cluever and Smith 2016). Pupa range in size from 0.5 mm to 1mm in length.

Frankliniella tritici larvae and pupae closely resemble other Frankliniella species and are not typically identified to species in this stage (Cluever and Smith 2016).

Adults: Adults possess fringed wings and are yellow in color ( Figure 2). Adults are elongate, and approximately 1 mm in length (Arthurs et al. 2015).

Adults examined at high magnification may be distinguished from other pale Frankliniella species found in Florida by a combination of diagnostic features provided below.

Figure 2. Slide mounted Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) adult female. Photograph by Thomas Skarlinsky, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Figure 3. Setae arising from antennal segment II of Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) are simple. The antennal segment three pedicel is swollen and mushroom-like (circled). Photograph by Thomas Skarlinsky, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Figure 4. Three pairs of ocelli setae arise on anterior margins of the ocellar triangle of Frankliniella tritici (Fitch). Photograph by Thomas Skarlinsky, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Figure 5. Pronotum of Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) with five pairs of major setae (arrowed). Photograph by Thomas Skarlinsky, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Figure 6. Posterior margin of abdominal segment eight of Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) with incomplete microtrichial comb. Photograph by Thomas Skarlinsky, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Frankliniella tritici are haplodiploid; males are produced from unfertilized eggs and diploid females are produced from fertilized eggs (Reitz 2009).

The life cycle of Frankliniella tritici consists of an egg, two larval stages, prepupa, pupa and adult (Childers 1997).

Frankliniella tritici feed on plant tissue during the larval and adult stages, but the pupal stages are found in the soil and do not feed (Arthurs et al. 2015). The developmental time from egg to adult is approximately two to three weeks (Reitz 2008) with a minimum development temperature of 10°C (Toapanta 2001). Adults lay eggs in plant tissue and can lay up to 17 eggs per day (Reitz 2008). Larvae and adults are highly mobile and found in the flower or on the fruit of host plants (Funderburk et al. 2015b). Adults live for approximately 38 days (Reitz 2008). Frankliniella tritici have multiple generations per year and populations develop more rapidly as temperature increase (Funderburk et al. 2015a, 2015b).

Frankliniella tritici infests the flowers of a wide variety of agricultural crops including asparagus, blackberry, cotton, eggplant, peach, pepper, rye, soybean, strawberry, and tomato (Funderburk et al. 2015a, 2015b, Cluever and Smith 2016). Frankliniella tritici has been recorded from ornamentals such as chrysanthemum and rose (Cluever and Smith 2016). In addition to agricultural crops and ornamentals, Frankliniella tritici is found in several species of flowering weeds including morning glory, dandelion, wood sorrel, and clover (Chellemi et al. 1994). In a study in northern Florida, Frankliniella tritici were collected from 48 plant species over the course of one year with 18 plants identified as reproductive hosts (Paini et al. 2007).

In the southeastern United States, Frankliniella tritici, along with other Frankliniella species, is recognized as an early-season pest of seedling cotton (Reed et al. 2006). Adults feed on the new terminal growth and underside of the leaves (Cotton Insect Management Guide 2017) causing silvering of the plant tissue and a reduction in photosynthesis (Kirk 2002). Plants damaged by thrips may be stunted and leaves may be distorted.

In northern Florida, Frankliniella tritici is the most common species of thrips found in the flowers of eggplant, pepper and tomato; however, they are not damaging, even at densities of 20 to 25 adults per flower (Demirozer et al. 2012, Funderburk et al. 2015a, 2015b). Frankliniella tritici has been shown to outcompete the highly damaging western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Paini et al. 2008).

Scouting: Scouting for thrips in fruiting vegetables is done by selecting blooms and counting the number of thrips after tapping the bloom against a whiteboard (Schuster and Smith 2015). All fruit sizes are examined directly for thrips (Funderburk et al. 2015a, 2015b).

Scouting in cotton is done by beating the plants over a whiteboard and counting the number of thrips (Layton and Reed 2014). The Texas A&M University Cotton Insect Management Program (2017) recommends scouting for thrips weekly until cotton has five to seven leaves.

Thrips are preserved for identification by placing flowers, leaves or buds in a small container with 70% ethyl alcohol. Thrips in the alcohol are extracted and identifications are made using a 40X magnification stereoscope (Funderburk et al. 2015a, 2015b).

Economic Thresholds: Proper identification of thrips in cropping systems is a critical component to a successful integrated pest management program. Different species of Frankliniella occur in eggplant, pepper, and tomato in Florida and vary greatly in their pest status (Demirozer et al. 2012). Densities of 10 or more Frankliniella tritici adults per flower are tolerated before action is recommended; however, a threshold of one Frankliniella occidentalis adult per flower in tomato and six adults per flower in eggplant and pepper are the recommended economic threshold (Demirozer et al. 2012). This emphasizes the proper identification of thrips species in fruiting vegetables.

In cotton production, established economic thresholds for thrips do not identify a certain species, but include all species. Action thresholds are as follows: one thrips per plant during emergence to one true leaf, two thrips per plant during emergence to two true leaves, three thrips per plant during emergence to three leaves per plant (Texas A&M Cotton Insect Management Guide 2017). Following emergence of five to seven leaves treatment is rarely justified (Texas A&M Cotton Insect Management Guide 2017).

Biological Control: Minute pirate bugs, Orius insidiosus (Say),(Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) are the most effective predators of flower thrips in the genus Frankliniella (Funderburk et al. 2015a). Orius insidiosus prefer to feed on thrips larvae as Frankliniella tritici adults are more active and able to escape predation (Baez et al. 2004). In Florida, natural populations of Orius insidiosus invade eggplant and pepper fields during late spring and control thrips populations (Funderburk et al. 2015a). A predator-prey ratio of one Orius insidiosus to 180 thrips provides thrips suppression and one Orius insidiosus to 40 thrips provides control (Demirozer et al. 2012). Orius insidiosus is a common predator of thrips in numerous plant species such as cotton (Osekre et al. 2008).

Chemical control: Several insecticides are labelled for the use of Frankliniella tritici control in fruiting vegetables and cotton. However, chemical control is not recommended until after economic thresholds have been reached.

In an effort to conserve Orius insidiosus populations in fruiting vegetables, reduced-risk insecticides are recommended as opposed to broad-spectrum insecticides (Demirozer et al. 2012, Funderburk et al. 2015a, 2015b).

The primary means of chemical control for thrips in cotton relies on the use of insecticide-treated seed followed by the use of an in-furrow systemic insecticide once thresholds are reached (Texas A&M Cotton Insect Management Guide).

Arthurs S, Kok-Yokomi ML, Smith HA. 2015. Florida flower thrips (suggested common name) Frankliniella bispinosa Morgan (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Document EENY-639. UF/IFAS EDIS, Electronic Data Information Source. (29 October 2018)

Avila Y, Stavisky J, Hague S, Funderburk FE, Reitz R, Momol T. 2006.Evaluation of Frankliniella bispinosa (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) as a vector of the Tomato spotted wilt virusin pepper. Florida Entomologist 89: 204-207.

Baez I, Reitz SR, Funderburk JE. 2004. Predation by Orius insidiosus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) on life stages and species of Frankliniella flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in pepper flowers. Environmental Entomology 33: 662-670.

Chellemi DO, Funderburk JE, Hall DW. 1994.Seasonal abundance of flower-inhabiting Frankliniella species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on wild plant species. Environmental Entomology23: 337-342.

Childers CC. 1997. Feeding and oviposition injuries to plants. Thrips as Crop Pests (ed. Lewis T), pp. 505-538. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.

Cluever J, Smith H. 2016. Pest information guide: Eastern flower thrips, Frankliniella tritici. Document IN113700. UF/IFAS EDIS, Electronic Data Information Source. (29 October 2018)

Cotton Insect Management Guide. 2017. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. (29 October 2018)

de Assis Filho FM, Stavisky J, Reitz R, Deom CM, Sherwood JL. 2005.Midgut infection by Tomato spotted wilt virus and vector incompetence of Frankliniella tritici. Journal of Applied Entomology 129: 548-550.

Demirozer O, Tyler-Julian K, Funderburk J, Leppla N, Reitz S. 2012. Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) integrated pest management programs for fruiting vegetables in Florida. Pest Management Science 68: 1537-1545.

Funderburk JE, Reitz S, Stansly P, Freeman J, Miller C, McAvoy G, Whidden A, Demirozer O, Nuessly G, Leppla N. 2015a. Managing thrips in pepper and eggplant. Document ENY-658 (IN401). UF/IFAS EDIS, Electronic Data Information Source. (29 October 2018)

Funderburk JE, Adkins S, Freeman J, Stansly P, Smith H, Demirozer O, Snodgrass C, Paret M, Leppla N. 2015b. Managing thrips and tospoviruses in tomato. Document ENY-859 (IN859). UF/IFAS EDIS, Electronic Data Information Source. (29 October 2018)

Hoddle MS, Mound LA, Paris DL. 2012. Thrips of California. CBIT Publishing, Queensland. (29 October 2018)

Kirk WDJ. 2002. The pest and vector from the west: Frankliniella occidentalis.Thrips and Tospoviruses: Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Thysanoptera (Eds. Marullo R, Mound L), pp. 33-42. Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra, Australia.

Layton B, Reed JT. 2014. Biology and control of thrips on seedling cotton. Mississippi State University Extension Service. Publication 2302. (29 October 2018)

Paini DR, Funderburk JE, Jackson CT, Reitz SR. 2007. Reproduction of four thrips species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on uncultivated hosts. Journal of Entomological Science 42: 610-615.

Paini DR, Funderburk JE, Reitz SR. 2008. Competitive exclusion of worldwide invasive pest by a native. Quantifying competition between two phytophagous insects on two host plant species. Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 184-190.

Reed JT, Allen C, Bagwell R, Cook D, Burris E, Freeman B, Leonard R, Lentz G. 2006. A key to the thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on seedling cotton in the mid-southern United States. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Information Sheet. pp. 1-26.

Reitz SR. 2008. Comparative bionomics of Frankliniella occidentalis and Frankliniella tritici. Florida Entomologist 91: 474-476.

Reitz SR. 2009. Biology and ecology of the western flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae): The making of a pest. Florida Entomologist 92: 7-13.

Schuster DJ, Smith HA. 2015. Scouting for insects, use of thresholds, and conservation of beneficial insects on tomatoes. Document ENY685 (IN482). UF/IFAS EDIS, Electronic Data Information Source. (29 October 2018)

Toapanta M, Funderburk JE, Chellemi D. 2001. Development of Frankliniella species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in relation to microclimate temperatures in vetch. Journal of Entomological Science 36: 426-437.

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The flower thrips, Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) ( Figure 1) is one of the most abundant species of flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in the eastern United States (Reitz 2008). The official common name established by the Entomological Society of America for this species is flower thrips, although the name flower thrips is often applied generically to the numerous species in the genus Frankliniella that inhabit flowers.

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Crickets vary in length from 3 to 50 mm (0.12 to 2 inches). They have thin antennae, hind legs modified for jumping, three-jointed tarsal (foot) segments, and two slender abdominal sensory appendages (called cerci). The two forewings are stiff and leathery, and the two long, membranous hind wings are used in flying. Male crickets produce musical chirping sounds by rubbing a scraper located on one forewing along a row of about 50 to 250 teeth on the opposite forewing.

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They are used as fish bait in some countries and are also used in biology laboratories. Gryllus is often referred to in poetry and prose.

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Cricket, (family Gryllidae), any of approximately 2,400 species of leaping insects (order Orthoptera) that are worldwide in distribution and known for the musical chirping of the male. Crickets vary in length from 3 to 50 mm (0.12 to 2 inches). They have thin antennae, hind legs modified for jumping, three-jointed tarsal (foot) segments, and two slender abdominal sensory appendages (called cerci). The two forewings are stiff and leathery, and the two long, membranous hind wings are used in flying.

Male crickets produce musical chirping sounds by rubbing a scraper located on one forewing along a row of about 50 to 250 teeth on the opposite forewing. The frequency of the chirps depends on the number of teeth struck per second and varies from 1,500 cycles per second in the largest cricket species to nearly 10,000 cycles per second in the smallest. The most common cricket songs are the calling song, which attracts the female; the courtship, or mating, song, which induces the female to copulate; and the fighting chirp, which repels other males. Both sexes have highly sensitive organs on the forelegs for sound reception. There is a direct relationship between the rate of cricket chirps and temperature, with the rate increasing with increasing temperature.

Most female crickets insert eggs into soil or plant stems with their long, slender ovipositors, sometimes causing serious plant damage. In northern latitudes most crickets mature and lay eggs in the fall. The nymphs hatch in the spring and become adults after 6 to 12 molts; adults ordinarily live 6 to 8 weeks.

The field cricket (genus Gryllus) and the house cricket ( Acheta, formerly Gryllus, domesticus) of the subfamily Gryllinae are stout-bodied and black or brown and often dig shallow burrows. They may feed on plants, animals, clothes, and each other. The field cricket (also called the black cricket) is common in fields and yards and sometimes enters buildings. The house cricket, introduced into North America from Europe, has a light-coloured head with dark cross bands and may be found in buildings and refuse heaps. Widely distributed, house and field crickets chirp day and night. They are used as fish bait in some countries and are also used in biology laboratories. Gryllus is often referred to in poetry and prose.

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Ground crickets (subfamily Nemobiinae, or sometimes Gryllinae), approximately 12 mm long, are commonly found in pastures and wooded areas. Their song is a series of soft, high-pitched trills. The striped ground cricket ( Nemobius vittatus) has three dark stripes on its abdomen.

Tree crickets (subfamily Oecanthinae) are white or green in colour and have transparent wings. Although tree crickets are beneficial to humans because they prey on aphids, the female injures twigs during egg placement. The song of most tree crickets is a long trill. The snowy tree cricket ( Oecanthus fultoni) is popularly known as the thermometer cricket because the approximate temperature (Fahrenheit) can be estimated by counting the number of chirps in 15 seconds and adding 40. Tree- and bush-inhabiting crickets usually sing at night, whereas weed-inhabiting crickets sing both day and night.

snowy tree cricket Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ant-loving crickets (subfamily Myrmecophilinae) are minute (3 to 5 mm long), wingless, and humpbacked. They live in ant nests. Wingless bush crickets (subfamily Mogoplistinae) are generally found on bushes or under debris in sandy tropical areas near water. They are slender crickets, 5 to 13 mm long, wingless or with small wings, and are covered with translucent scales that rub off easily. Sword-bearing, or winged bush, crickets (subfamily Trigonidiinae) are 4 to 9 mm long and brown and possess a sword-shaped ovipositor. They are characteristically found in bushes near a pond.

Crickets play a large role in myth and superstition. Their presence is equated with good fortune and intelligence; harming a cricket supposedly causes misfortune. In East Asia male crickets are caged for their songs, and cricket fighting has been a favourite sport in China for hundreds of years.

Insects called crickets but not of the cricket family Gryllidae include the camel cricket, Jerusalem cricket, mole cricket, and pygmy sand cricket.

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Cricket, (family Gryllidae), any of approximately 2,400 species of leaping insects (order Orthoptera) that are worldwide in distribution and known for the musical chirping of the male. Crickets vary in length from 3 to 50 mm (0.12 to 2 inches). They have thin antennae, hind legs modified for

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Honey Bees have a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton and three main body parts: head, thorax, abdomen. They also have a pair of antennae that are attached to their head, as well as, three pairs of legs used for walking.

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All honey bees are social insects and live together in nests or hives. The honeybee is remarkable for the dancing movements it performs in the hive to communicate information to its fellow bees about the location, distance, size, and quality of a particular food source in the surrounding area.

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Honeybee | Description, Characteristics, Species, Habitat, Life Cycle, & Facts | Britannica

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A honeybee is any of a small group of social bees that make honey. All honeybees live together in nests or hives. There are two honeybee sexes, male and female, and two female castes.

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Beetles belong to the Endopterygota or insects having a complete metamorphosis, with a distinct pupal stage between the larval and sexually mature adult stages. A high proportion of beetle species are able to fly and these possess two pairs of wings. In most species, the forewings or elytra consist of a pair of hard shells that protect the membranous hind wings which are normally folded away but hinge outwards during flight. Flightless species may have reduced hindwings concealed beneath normal elytra or sometimes the elytra are fused together with no hindwings at all.

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During their short adult lives, male stag beetles spend their days sunning themselves to gather strength for the evening’s activities of flying in search of a mate. This is when you’re most likely to spot them.

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Possibly the most well known of Britain's beetles, the Stag beetle Lucanus cervus. The males have large 'antlers' and this gives them their common name. The smaller female does not possess large antlers.

Introduction

The Order Coleoptera or beetles forms the largest group of insects worldwide with about 370,000 described species. In addition many others have been recognised as new but have not yet been described and a conservative estimate is that at least the same number are still awaiting discovery. For these reasons it is impossible to estimate the true number of beetle species in the world.

However, the situation in the British Isles is slightly different and beetle diversity comes third with about 4,100 species, being surpassed by both Diptera (flies) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants, etc.).

General features

Beetles belong to the Endopterygota or insects having a complete metamorphosis, with a distinct pupal stage between the larval and sexually mature adult stages. A high proportion of beetle species are able to fly and these possess two pairs of wings. In most species the forewings or elytra consist of a pair of hard shells that protect the membranous hindwings which are normally folded away, but hinge outwards during flight. Flightless species may have reduced hindwings concealed beneath normal elytra or sometimes the elytra are fused together with no hindwings at all.

Beetles can be found in almost every imaginable terrestrial or aquatic habitat but many more species are found in tropical countries than in places with more temperate climates. Continental land masses tend to be richer in beetles than isolated islands, although these often support unique communities of species. Some species live deep underground in caves and a few are even able to survive in the inter-tidal zone along the seashore. There is enormous variation in size, body mass and form, the smallest adults being less than 1 mm long and the largest about 20 cm. Some longhorn species possess enormously long antennae, the variety is almost endless.

Special features

A number of beetle species are dependant upon other insects for their survival. For example, some ground beetles (Carabidae) are known to be parasitic on the early stages of other beetles - sometimes just one particular species. Other beetles breed in the nests of various Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants).

Collecting and studying beetles

To study most families of beetles it is necessary to collect a few specimens and make a reference collection. This is because many beetles need to be examined under a microscope in order for them to be identified.

Setting

Should a reference collection be required, there are several ways of preparing beetle specimens for permanent storage. The method chosen is partly one of personal preference but much depends on the beetle group chosen for study. The aim should always be to display the most essential characters needed for identification purposes. Large specimens may be direct-pinned by passing a stainless steel pin through the right elytron about one third from its base. It is best to fix smaller specimens onto specially manufactured white card mounts, with antennae and legs arranged symmetrically, using a water-soluble gum.

Although a certain degree of neatness helps when comparing one species of beetle with another it is not essential to 'set' specimens perfectly but the degree of neatness is a decision each entomologist must make. Gum tragacanth or any clear water soluable gum is equally suitable (the AES links directory has a list of entomological equipment suppliers). The latest edition of The Coleopterist's Handbook provides all the essential information required.

Identification

Beetles can be identified by referring to keys in a range of excellent books currently available. If a book on a particular family is out of print it is often possible to obtain a second-hand copy. Many dealers have searchable web sites for this purpose. With a little experience it is possible to identify specimens to family, and often genus level on site. This greatly speeds up the identification process. It is also suggested that Web sites with a good photo galleries, e.g., The Coleopterist are visited.

Recommended reading

Essential reading from the Amateur Entomologists' Society

Related links: Beetles (Order: Coleoptera)

Back to Insect Orders.

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Possibly the most well known of Britain's beetles, the Stag beetle Lucanus cervus. The males have large 'antlers' and this gives them their common name. The smaller female does not possess large antlers. The Order Coleoptera or beetles forms the largest group of insects worldwide with about 370,000 described species.

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The scientific name of the order, Lepidoptera, is derived from one of their main characteristics, namely their having wings covered in tiny scales (from the Greek lepidos = scale and pteron = wing). They have 4 wings, 6 legs, 2 antennae. There is no real distinction between butterflies and moths. However, in general, butterflies are day flying, whilst moths fly mainly at night.

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The Luna Moth are considered one of the most spiritual and mystical of Spirit Guides. To meet one is a special gift, for when she is in her adult moth stage she only lives for approximately one week. While living through their adult moth life they do not eat, for they have no mouth.

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The Luna moth ( Actias luna) is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly known as giant silk moths. It has lime-green colored wings and a white body. The larvae (caterpillars) are also green. Typically, it has a wingspan of roughly 114 mm (4.5 in), but can exceed 178 mm (7.0 in), making it one of the larger moths in North America. Across Canada, it has one generation per year, with the winged adults appearing in late May or early June, whereas farther south it will have two or even three generations per year, the first appearance as early as March in southern parts of the United States.

As defense mechanisms, larvae emit clicks as a warning and also regurgitate intestinal contents, confirmed as having a deterrent effect on a variety of predators. The elongated tails of the hindwings are thought to confuse the echolocation detection used by predatory bats. A parasitic fly deliberately introduced to North America to be a biological control for the invasive species gypsy moth appears to have had a negative impact on Luna moths and other native moths.

Eggs, attached in small groups to undersides of leaves, are mottled white and brown, slightly oval, and roughly 1.5 millimeters in diameter. Larvae are primarily green, with sparse hairs. The first instar, emerging from the egg, reaches a length of 6-8 mm (0.24-0.31 in), the second 9-10 mm (0.35-0.39 in), the third 12-16 mm (0.47-0.63 in) and the fourth 23-26 mm (0.91-1.02 in). The fifth (final) instar grows to approximately 70-90 mm (2.8-3.5 in) in length. Small, colorful dots - yellow or magenta - may line the sides of the fourth and fifth instars. The larvae may take on a reddish-brown color just prior to cocooning. Fifth-instar larvae descend to the ground and use silk to bind dead leaves around the cocoon.

The imagoes (winged, sexually mature), often referred to as 'adult moths,' emerge from the pupae with the wings small, crumpled and held close to the body. Over a period of several hours the wings will enlarge to full size. Wingspan is typically 8-11.5 cm (3.1-4.5 in), and in rare instances as much as 17.78 cm (7.00 in). Females and males are similar in size and appearance: green wings, eyespots on both forewings and hind wings, and long, sometimes somewhat twisted tails extending from the back edge of the hindwings. Bodies are white and hairy. Adults have vestigial mouthparts and do not feed. Energy is from fat stores created while a caterpillar. The forward edge of the forewing is dark-colored and thick, tapering in thickness from the thorax to the wing tip. Its color can range from maroon to brown. The eyespots, one per wing, are oval in shape on the forewings and round on the hindwings. Each eyespot can have arcs of black, blue, red, yellow, green or white. The eyespots are thought to confuse potential predators.

There are some sex-determined and regional differences in appearance. Females will have a larger abdomen compared to males because it contains 200-400 eggs. Both sexes have antennae, but on the male, much longer and wider. Wing color is blue-green in the north and for the over-wintering generation in the central and southern states; second and third generation wing color has more of a yellow-green tint.

Described and named Phalena plumata caudata by James Petiver in 1700, this was the first North American saturniid to be reported in the insect literature. The initial Latin name, which roughly translates to "brilliant, feather tail", was replaced when Carl Linnaeus described the species in 1758 in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae, and renamed it Phalaena luna, later Actias luna, with luna derived from Luna, the Roman moon goddess. The common name became "Luna moth". Several other North American giant silk moths were also given species names after Roman or Greek mythology.

The Luna moth is found in North America, from east of the Great Plains in the United States - Florida to Maine, and from Saskatchewan eastward through central Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada. Luna moths are also rarely found in Western Europe as vagrants.

Based on the climate in which they live, Luna moths produce different numbers of generations per year. In Canada and northern regions of the United States they are univoltine, meaning one generation per year. Life stages are approximately 10 days as eggs, 6-7 weeks as larvae, 2-3 weeks as pupae, finishing with one week as winged adults appearing in late May or early June. In the mid-Atlantic states the species is bivoltine, and farther south trivoltine, meaning respectively two and three generations per year. In the central states the first generation appears in April, second in July. Even farther south, first generation appears as early as March, with second and third spaced eight to ten weeks later.

Females lay 200-400 eggs, singly or in small groups, on the underside of leaves of the tree species preferred by the larvae. Egg laying starts the evening after mating is completed and goes on for several days. Eggs hatch in about a week.

Each instar - the period between molts - generally takes about 4-10 days. There are five instars before cocooning. At the end of each instar, a small amount of silk is placed on the major vein of a leaf and the larva undergoes apolysis, then ecdysis (molting), leaving the old exoskeleton behind. Sometimes the shed exoskeleton is eaten. Each instar is green, though the first two instars do have some variation in which some larvae will have black underlying splotches on their dorsal side. The final instar grows to approximately 70 mm (2.8 in) to 90 mm (3.5 in) in length. This is a tree-dwelling species. Larvae stay on the same tree where they hatched until it is time to descend to the ground to make a cocoon. When females emerge from cocoons they fly to preferred tree species, emit pheromones, and wait there for males to find them.

The Luna moth pupates after spinning a silk cocoon, which is thin and single layered. Shortly before pupation, the final, fifth-instar caterpillar will engage in a "gut dump" where any excess water and intestinal contents are expelled. As pupae, this species is more physically active than most moths. When disturbed, the moths will wiggle within their pupal cases, producing a noise. Pupation takes approximately two weeks unless the individual is in diapause over winter, in which case the pupal stage takes about nine months. The mechanisms triggering diapause are generally a mixture of genetic triggers, duration of sunlight and temperature. The pupae have chitinous spurs near the base of the forewings. By vigorously moving about within the cocoon, these spurs tear a circular opening from which the imago emerges, the silk of the cocoon having also been weakened by the secretion of cocoonase, a protein-digesting enzyme.

Imago (winged)

Pupae transition to winged state after receiving external signals in the form of temperature change. When the adult Luna moths emerge from their pupae, their abdomens are swollen and their wings are small, soft and wet. The first few hours of adult life will be spent pumping hemolymph (invertebrates' equivalent to blood) from the abdomen into the wings. The moths must wait for the wings to dry and harden before being able to fly. This process can take 2-3 hours to complete. Luna moths are not rare, but are rarely seen due to their very brief (7-10 day) adult lives and nocturnal flying time. As with all giant silk moths, the adults only have vestigial mouthparts and no digestive system and therefore do not eat in their adult form, instead relying on energy they stored up as caterpillars. In regions where there are two or three generations per year, the second and third may have wing coloration that is more of a yellow-green compared to the first generation of the year.

Giant silk moths have in common a mating process wherein the females, at night, release volatile sex pheromones, which the males, flying, detect via their large antennae. Males can detect these molecules at a distance of several miles, and then fly in the direction the wind is coming from until reaching the female. Luna moth females mate with the first males to find them, a process that typically starts after midnight and takes several hours. Researchers extracted three chemical compounds from the pheromone gland of unmated Luna moth females and identified one major and two minor aldehyde compounds designated E6, Z11-18:Ald, E6-18:Ald and Z11-18:Ald. The same compounds were also synthesized. Field experiments with both unmated females and the synthesized compounds confirmed that E6, Z11-18:Ald was the major sex pheromone, attraction augmented by the addition of E6-18:Ald but not by Z11-18:Ald. The authors mentioned that no other moth species were attracted to either the unmated females or the synthesized products, confirming that the pheromone is species-specific, at least for the sites and dates where it was tested.

Some species of giant silk moth larvae are known to make clicking noises when attacked by rubbing their serrated mandibles together. These clicks are audible to humans and extend into ultrasound frequencies audible to predators. Clicks are thought to be a form of aposematic warning signaling, made prior to predator-deterring regurgitation of intestinal contents. Luna moth larvae click and regurgitate, with the regurgitated material confirmed as being a predator deterrent against several species.

Imagos (winged adults) of this and related night-flying species collectively referred to as "moon moths" have long hindwing tails. A "false target" hypothesis holds that the tails evolved as a means of reducing risk of predation by bats which use echolocation to locate prey. Experiments were conducted with Luna moths with intact wings and with the tails removed. With intact wings, a majority of the attacking bats contacted the hindwing tails rather than the body of the moth; only 35% of intact moths were caught versus 81% for those with clipped tails. The results of this experiment support echolocation distortion as an effective countermeasure.

The parasitic fly Compsilura concinnata native to Europe was deliberately introduced to the United States throughout much of the 20th century as a biological control for gypsy moths. Due to its flexible life cycle, it can parasitize more than 150 species of butterflies and moths in North America. Researchers reported that when Luna moth larvae were placed outside for about a week and then collected and returned to the laboratory, four parasitoid species emerged, the most common being C. concinnata. The researchers concluded that this parasitic fly causes collateral damage to Luna moth populations.

The larvae of Luna moths feed on several different species of broadleaf trees. The larvae do not reach population densities sufficient to cause significant damage to their host trees. Tuskes listed white birch (Betula papyrifera), American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and American sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), plus several species of hickory ( Carya), walnut ( Juglans) and sumac ( Rhus). Other tree species have been identified as suitable for Actias luna larvae, but a feeding experiment that also included black cherry, cottonwood, quaking aspen, white willow, red oak, white oak and tulip tree reported very poor survival on these seven tree species even though older literature had identified them as hosts. The author suggested that host plant utilization may differ regionally, so that larvae collected from one region may not tolerate host plants readily consumed in another region. Biochemical detoxification of host plant defensive chemicals by digestive system enzymes may be a factor in regional host plant specialization. Juglone is a chemical compound common to walnut and hickory which most insects find a deterrent or even toxic. Luna moth larvae have higher concentrations of juglone-neutralizing digestive system enzymes compared to other lepidoptera, and concentrations were even higher when larvae were fed walnut or hickory leaves versus white birch or American sweet gum. This suggests evolutionary and inducible adaptations to allow consumption of certain host plants.

The Luna moth appeared on a first class United States postage stamp issued in June 1987. Although more than two dozen butterflies have been so honored, as of 2019 this is the only moth.

The American rock band R.E.M. references Luna moths in their song "You" off of their 1994 album .

The band Big Thief references the Luna moth on their song "Strange" from the 2019 album

The Luna moth appeared in Livingstone Mouse by Pamela Duncan Edwards.

The Luna moth has been used previously in advertisements for the insomnia medicine Lunesta.

The Luna moth has appeared in The Dragon Prince as Archangel Lunaris, or the giant moon moth.

The Luna moth has appeared in Don't Starve Together as a butterfly type that spawns on the Lunar Island when chopping a lune tree.

The Luna moth has appeared in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as an alchemy ingredient that can be found throughout the game.

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The Luna moth ( Actias luna) is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly known as giant silk moths. It has lime-green colored wings and a white body. The larvae (caterpillars) are also green.

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The Luna Moth may be considered one of the most spiritual and mystical of Spirit Guides.

To meet one is a special gift, for when she is in her adult moth stage she only lives for approximately one week. While living through their adult moth life they do not eat, for they have no mouth. One might say that their purpose is to reproduce, but I say it is to bring forth the next generation with love.

They are born, they transform, they love, they die, and then are again reborn. Their cycles are short, as are our years while we are here. We are reminded to make the most of our moments and to live and love to the fullest.

She is most often seen in the evenings, attracted to the moon and to the light.

She speaks of our connection to the Feminine, our inner spirit, and our trust in ourselves.

We learn of the importance to find the balance between light and dark, the seen and the unseen. She is a reminder that when all is said and done, our healing and sense of love are the ultimate journey.

The caterpillar and its metamorphosis into the moth, is a spiritual metaphor for our own transformation. Much like the caterpillar's metamorphosis, we may at times feel like our guts are being ripped apart and turned to mush right before our eyes.

The butterfly is also the spiritual symbol of the Divine Feminine and her transcendence, from the caterpillar's perspective it can feel like a death rather than a transformation, and yet the butterfly gracefully emerges, whole, complete, beautiful, and free. We must set aside everything we once knew and understood about our world and fully embody an entirely new way of being in the world.

The releasing of our past patterning and attachments can very much feel like we are being torn apart from the inside, a painful death of our very comfortable caterpillar body, we were used to crawling on the ground and eating our way through our emotions.

Then on the other side of this confusing and gut wrenching loss of self, we emerge with wet wings, no longer do we crawl, our legs have been transformed, and we fly, almost effortlessly, to sip nectar from the blossoms of flowers.

The ascension process of our Highest Self.

You must surrender completely and trust that some intelligence higher than yourself is guiding you through this process into complete rebirth and freedom.

Luna moths signify new beginnings as they represent a continuing quest for truth and knowledge, the gift of intuition, psychic perception and heightened awareness. Things that are associated with "seeing the light".

Luna Moth : Protection and Guidance from the Highest Wisdom. Face your limitations as this is a time of rebirth and limitlessness, open yourself to abundance and favorable outcomes and know you are greatly protected in all activities.

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The Luna Moth, The Phases of the Moon, and the Spiritual Significance of Signs that Appear in our Lives

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The Luna Moth may be considered one of the most spiritual and mystical of Spirit Guides. To meet one is a special gift, for when she is in her adult moth stage she only lives for approximately one week. While living through their adult moth life they do not eat, for they have no mouth.

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They have four wings. The muscles that operate the forewings are well developed and situated in the mid-section of the insect's thorax. Together, the relatively powerful forewings and the halteres enable these insects to perform amazing feats of flying and combined with the claws and pads on their feet they can even fly and land easily on ceilings.

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The Housefly Musca domestica is not a blood feeder, but because it isn't fussy where it goes to suck up liquids, it can transmit disease by feasting one minute on putrefying flesh or dung, and the next on sweet things on the kitchen table.

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Flies (Order: Diptera) - Amateur Entomologists’ Society (AES)

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Information on flies (Order: Diptera). The Diptera are familiar to everyone as just ‘flies’ - such as house flies and blue bottles - and this order of insects also includes daddy long legs, midges and mosquitoes.