Insects

Termite (Insects)

Terrestrial Insects Thermoregulation In insects, as in other animals, body temperature strongly affects the rate of energy expenditure, the rate at which food can be located and harvested, growth, the facility with which mates can be acquired and predators avoided, and sometimes also the susceptibility to disease organisms. Thermoregulation refers to the ability to regulate […]

Thrips (Insects)

Thysanoptera The 6000 described species of Thysanoptera, the thrips, exhibit a wide range of biologies. About 50% feed only on fungi, with most of these feeding on hyphae but some on spores. Of the remainder, approximately equal numbers feed either in flowers or on green leaves; a few are obligate predators on other small arthropods. […]

Temperature, Effects on Development and Growth (Insects)

The body temperature of most insects is linked to changes in ambient temperature. Insects are ectothermic and hetero-thermic (poikilothermic) organisms, in contrast to endother-mic and homeothermic birds and mammals. Large dragonflies, hairy bees, and moths generate and maintain a high and stable thoracic temperature during flight. Temperature fluctuations are small in environments such as the […]

Teaching Resources (Insects)

Taste Taxonomy In the classroom, insects are perennially popular subjects. Small enough and odd enough to be both simple to manage and intriguing to students, they are sometimes taught about for their own sake, and sometimes used as models for the teaching of concepts in biology as a whole. For those who teach about insects […]

Symbionts Aiding Digestion (Insects)

The interactions of insects with microorganisms range from the cultivation of fungus gardens to intimate associations with bacteria housed within special organs (mycetomes) or dedicated cells (bacteriocytes) of the fat body. Many of these associations have nutritional implications; this article will focus on microbial symbionts that colonize the intestinal tract and are directly involved in […]

Symbionts, Bacterial (Insects)

Many species of insect are host to symbiotic microorganisms. These symbionts have traditionally been classified as mutual-ists (beneficial), parasitic (harmful), or commensal (neutral). A variety of microorganisms among these symbionts are vertically transmitted, that is, they are inherited. The survival of these heritable symbi-onts is almost totally dependent on the success of their host. It […]

Swimming and Other Movements, Stream Insaects

The physical world of an insect living in water or air is ruled by the fluid velocity relative to its body. Thus, swimming fast in still JL_ water or slowly against a current of flowing water can be physically similar for an insect. However, flow in streams is physically harsh and often constraining the movements […]

Swimming, Lake Insects

Insects of many types, such as beetles (Coleoptera), true bugs (Heteroptera), and fly larvae (Diptera), can be observed swimming in ponds and lakes. Of these, the water beetles in the family Dytiscidae are reputed to be the best swimmers. The trunks of their bodies are well adapted to flow, and they generate thrust by executing […]

Strepsiptera (Insects)

Strepsiptera (twisted-winged parasites) is a cosmopolitan order of small insects (males, 1-7 mm; females, 2-30 mm) that are obligate insect endoparasites. The order comprises ~600 species placed within 10 extant and 2 extinct families. Strepsiptera derive their common name from the male front wing, which is haltere-like, and early workers considered it to be twisted […]

Stonefly (Insects)

Stored Products as Habitats The protection of stored food against attack by insects and molds has been a necessity since the dawn of agriculture, or perhaps since humans began to manufacture primitive clothing and tools for daily use from plant or animal material. Protection of stored products, thus, has a tradition of tens of thousands […]

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