Insects, General Applicable Terms

The region of the body of an arthropod behind the thorax, in insects comprising up to ten segments.

The invasion, through time, of a wide diversity of adaptive zones and niches by a group of organisms undergoing evolutionary diversification.

A reference to activities which take place in flight; that is, in the air.

The thin-walled expansion of the tracheal system of an arthropod, which increases or strengthens the inspiration and the exhalation of air.

Air sacs also give buoyancy to aquatic insects, and in dragonflies, it provides insulation around the thoracic wing muscles.

1. Of or relating to nourishment or nutrition.
2. Furnishing sustenance or maintenance.

A tube adapted for digestion, through which food passes: The alimentary canal is a complex organ consisting of the mouth cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, and the small and large intestines.

Apparently a self-sacrificing behavior performed by one creature for the benefit of others.

A reference to insects having no metamorphosis (no major change in physical form); that is, the Apterygota (being wingless), in which larvae hatch from eggs in a form essentially identical to the adult except for the size and undeveloped genitalia which develop and the size increases at each molting or periodically shedding of part or all of the outer covering of their bodies (hair, skin, or feathers, etc.) which is then replaced with a new growth.

One of about twenty compounds comprising both a basic amino group and an acidic carboxyl group (organic compound with acidic properties), which combine in their hundreds to form proteins.

A reference to the capability of living in water and on land.

Pertaining to organisms; such as, many bacteria, that are able to live in an environment that lacks free oxygen.

1. A type of worm characterized by numerous appendage-bearing or leg-bearing body segments.
2. An invertebrate organism with a flat body that is divided into segments.

Earthworms and leeches are annelids of the Phylum Anelida.

An ingrowth or other rigid process of the exoskeleton: An apodeme is typically adaptedd for serving as a muscle attachment.

Any limb or articulated outgrowth of the insect body; such as, the antennae or wings.

A member of the class Arachnida (spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites) of the phylum Chelicerata.