Insects are invertebrate animals found on the edge of arthropods, that is, they have an external exoskeleton that provides great protection without sacrificing mobility, and also have articulated appendages, they are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, with more than one million species., while many more are discovered every year.
In addition, they are mega-diversified and have adapted very well to almost every environment on the planet. Insects differ from other arthropods in that they have three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings, although the latter feature may vary.they range from 1 mm to 20 cm, and larger insects inhabit tropical areas.Continue reading this Animal Expert article and you’ll learn all about the wonderful world and characteristics of insects, from the details of their anatomy to what they feed on.
- The insect body is covered by an exoskeleton formed by a succession of layers and various substances.
- Including chitin.
- Sclerotin.
- Wax and melanin.
- Providing mechanical protection and protection against dryness and water loss.
- As for the shape of the body.
- There is a wide variation between insects.
- Which can be thick and fatty as beetles.
- Long and thin as phaesids and phasms.
- Or flattened as cockroaches.
- Antennas can also vary in shape and be feathery like some moths.
- Long as grasshoppers or rolled like butterflies.
- Divided into three regions:.
It is capsule-shaped and is where the eyes are inserted, the nozzle formed by several parts and the pair of antennae.The eyes can be composed, formed by thousands of receiving units, or simple, also called ocelos, which are small photoreceptor structures.The mouthpiece consists of articulated parts (lip, jaws, jaws and lip) that allow them to perform different functions, depending on the type of insect and its type of food, which can be:
It consists of three segments, each with a pair of legs
In most insects, meso and metatorax carry a pair of wings, which are cuticular expansions of the epidermis and are provided with veins, on the other hand, the legs are adapted to different functions, depending on the way of life, since terrestrial insects can be walkers, jumpers, diggers, swimmers.In some species, they are modified to capture prey or collect pollen.
It consists of 9 to 11 segments, but the latter is very small in structures called enclosures; in the genital segments the sexual organs are housed, which in males are the copulatory organs to transfer sperm, and in females, they are related to the ovum. lying.
The diet of insects is extremely varied, depending on the type of insect they can feed on the following:
If you want to know more about insects, we recommend reading this other peritoAnimal article about the 10 most poisonous insects in Brazil.
In insects, the sexes are separated and the reproduction is internal; some species are asexual and reproduce by parthenogenesis, that is, by the production of un fertilized female sex cells; in sexual species, sperm are usually deposited in a woman’s genital canal during sexual intercourse.
In some cases, sperm are stored in spermatophores that can be transferred during intercourse or deposited in the substrate to be collected by the female, and then stored in female sperm.
Many species mate only once in their life, but others can mate several times a day.Insects usually lay many eggs, up to more than a million at a time, and can put them alone or in groups in specific locations.Some species place them. In the plant from which the larvae feed, aquatic species place them in the water and, in the case of parasitic species, lay their eggs in butterfly caterpillars or other insects, where the larva will grow later and have food.in some cases, they can pierce the wood and place their eggs in it.Other species are viviparous and one individual is born at a time.
The first stages of growth occur inside the egg and can leave it in different ways, during metamorphosis the insect undergoes transformations and changes shape, that is, changes plant or ecdisis, although this process is not unique to insects, these go through very drastic changes, since they are related to the development of the wings , limited to adulthood and sexual maturity. Metamorphosis may vary by type and are classified as follows:
In addition to the general characteristics of the insects mentioned above, other features include:
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Curiosities section of the animal world.