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Large antennae on a longhorn beetle. Antennae (sg.: antenna) (sometimes referred to as "feelers") are paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. Antennae are connected to the first one or two segments of the arthropod head. They vary widely in form but are always made of one or more jointed segments.
Lepidoptera antennae can be angled in many positions. They help the insect in locating the scent and can be considered to act as a kind of "olfactory radar". [6] In moths, males frequently have antennae which are more feathery than those of the females, for detecting the female pheromones at a distance. [7]
Evolution has produced astonishing variety of appendages in insects, such as these antennae.. The most recent understanding of the evolution of insects is based on studies of the following branches of science: molecular biology, insect morphology, paleontology, insect taxonomy, evolution, embryology, bioinformatics and scientific computing.
Insects can feel with their antennae because of the fine hairs that cover them. [17]: 8–11 However, touch is not the only thing that antennae can detect; numerous tiny sensory structures on the antennae allow insects to sense smells, temperature, humidity, pressure, and even potentially sense themselves in space.
The development of insect mouthparts from the primitive chewing mouthparts of a grasshopper in the centre (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; hp hypopharynx.
The largest flying insects today are much smaller, with the largest wingspan belonging to the white witch moth (Thysania agrippina), at approximately 28 cm (11 in). [124] Unlike birds, small insects are swept along by the prevailing winds [125] although many larger insects migrate. Aphids are transported long distances by low-level jet streams ...
The antennae of insects consist of just three segments: the scape, the pedicel and the flagellum. Muscles occur only in the first two segments. The third segment, the flagellum, has no muscles and is composed of a various number of annuli. This type of antenna is therefore called an annulated antenna.
The insect pheromone is transmitted by direct contact or via a medium such as water or air. From the receiver, for example the pheromone receptors in the antenna of a male insect, the substance is received and triggers a behavioral response. The term antenna was first used to refer to the antennae of insects and subsequently in engineering. [56]