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Insects (from Latin insectum) are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. (Full article...)

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Scanning electron micrograph

Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about 3 millimetres (1⁄8 inch) long, are usually brown, and have bodies that are "flattened" sideways or narrow, enabling them to move through their hosts' fur or feathers. They lack wings; their hind legs are extremely well adapted for jumping. Their claws keep them from being dislodged, and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. They can leap 50 times their body length, a feat second only to jumps made by another group of insects, the superfamily of froghoppers. Flea larvae are worm-like, with no limbs; they have chewing mouthparts and feed on organic debris left on their hosts' skin.

Genetic evidence indicates that fleas are a specialised lineage of parasitic scorpionflies (Mecoptera) sensu lato, most closely related to the family Nannochoristidae. The earliest known fleas lived in the Middle Jurassic; modern-looking forms appeared in the Cenozoic. Fleas probably originated on mammals first and expanded their reach to birds. Each species of flea specializes, more or less, on one species of host: many species of flea never breed on any other host; some are less selective. Some families of fleas are exclusive to a single host group; for example, the Malacopsyllidae are found only on armadillos, the Ischnopsyllidae only on bats, and the Chimaeropsyllidae only on elephant shrews. (Full article...)

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... that the Australian moth Abantiades latipennis is well-adapted to surviving clearfelling and thrives in regrowth forests?
... that out of the described snakefly specimens from the Florissant Formation, the Raphidia funerata holotype is the most complete?
... that Ctenomorphodes chronus is an Australian stick insect that resembles an eucalyptus twig, and the female lays 3-mm elliptical eggs that resemble plant seeds?
... that when a Japanese honeybee hive is invaded by a giant hornet scout, the honeybees "bake" the hornet in a ball of about 500 bees?
... that Acanthoplus discoidalis is able to squirt haemolymph up to 30 centimetres (11.8 in) when attacked by predators?

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The following are images from various insect-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Variety of male structures in Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 2Head of Orthoptera, Acrididae. a:antenna; b:ocelli; c:vertex; d:compound eye; e:occiput; f:gena; g:pleurostoma; h:mandible; i:labial palp; j:maxillary palps; k:maxilla; l:labrum; m:clypeus; n:frons (from Insect morphology)
Image 3A tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau) dragonfly has flight muscles attached directly to its wings. (from Insect flight)
Image 4Reconstruction Strudiella devonica as a possible hexapod (from Evolution of insects)
Image 5Diagram of a typical insect leg (from Insect morphology)
Image 6Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws. (from Insect morphology)
Image 7Frenulo-retinacular wing coupling in male and female moths (from Insect flight)
Image 8Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of Papua New Guinea (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 9Direct flight: muscles attached to wings. Large insects only (from Insect flight)
Image 10A pie chart of described eukaryote species, showing just over half of these to be insects (from Insect biodiversity)
Image 11Mayfly nymph with paired abdominal gills (from Insect flight)
Image 12Mandibles of Rhyniognatha hirsti, it may be an oldest insect, but also possible to be a myriapod. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 13Mazothairos, a Carboniferous member of the now extinct order Palaeodictyoptera. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 14Venation of insect wings, based on the Comstock-Needham system (from Insect morphology)
Image 15The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have direct flight musculature, as do mayflies. (from Insect flight)
Image 16Generalized arthropod biramous limb. Trueman proposed that an endite and an exite fused to form a wing. (from Insect flight)
Image 17Fossil gnat in amber, a well-preserved insect fossil. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 18Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised (from Insect morphology)
Image 19Scanning electron micrograph of a cricket spiracle valve (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 20Hoverfly (Philhelius pedissequum) has indirect flight musculature. (from Insect flight)
Image 21Indian moon moth (Actias selene) with some of the spiracles identified (from Respiratory system of insects)
Image 22Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae (from Insect morphology)
Image 23Stylized diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule, from an insect of the order Orthoptera. (from Insect morphology)
Image 24Reconstruction of a Carboniferous insect, the palaeodictyopteran Mazothairos (from Insect flight)
Image 25The female genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 26Male genitalia of Lepidoptera (from Insect reproductive system)
Image 27
Insect morphology
Legend of body parts
Tagmata: A – Head, B – Thorax, C – Abdomen.
1. antenna
2. ocelli (lower)
3. ocelli (upper)
4. compound eye
5. brain (cerebral ganglia)
6. prothorax
7. dorsal blood vessel
8. tracheal tubes (trunk with spiracle)
9. mesothorax
10. metathorax
11. forewing
12. hindwing
13. mid-gut (stomach)
14. dorsal tube (heart)
15. ovary
16. hind-gut (intestine, rectum & anus)
17. anus
18. oviduct
19. nerve cord (abdominal ganglia)
20. Malpighian tubes
21. tarsal pads
22. claws
23. tarsus
24. tibia
25. femur
26. trochanter
27. fore-gut (crop, gizzard)
28. thoracic ganglion
29. coxa
30. salivary gland
31. subesophageal ganglion
32. mouthparts
(from Insect morphology)
Image 28Cross-section of wing vein (from Insect morphology)
Image 29Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae. (from Evolution of insects)
Image 30The development of insect mouthparts from the primitive chewing mouthparts of a grasshopper in the center (A), to the lapping type (B) of a bee, the siphoning type (C) of a butterfly and the sucking type (D) of a female mosquito.
Legend: a – antennae
c – compound eye
lb – labium
lr – labrum
md – mandibles
mx – maxillae (from Insect morphology)
Image 31Bumblebee defecating. Note the contraction of the anus, which provides internal pressure. (from Insect morphology)
Image 32The abdominal terminus of male scorpionflies is enlarged into a "genital bulb", as seen in Panorpa communis (from Insect morphology)

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Credit: Fir0002

Reduviidae (Hemiptera) is a large, cosmopolitan family of predatory insects, including the assassin bugs (genera include Melanolestes, Platymeris, Pselliopus, Rasahus, Reduvius, Rhiginia, Sinea, Triatoma, and Zelus), wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus) and thread-legged bugs (the subfamily Emesinae, including the genus Emesaya). There are about 7,000 species altogether, making it one of the largest families in the Hemiptera.

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