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All insects have antennae, however they may be greatly reduced in the larval forms. Amongst the non-insect classes of the Hexapoda, both Collembola and Diplura have antenna, but Protura do not. [9] Antennal fibrillae play an important role in Culex pipiens mating practices. The erection of these fibrillae is considered to be the first stage in ...
The number of segments in an antenna varies amongst insects, with higher flies having 3-6 segments, [21] while adult cockroaches can have over 140. [22] The general shape of the antennae is also quite variable, but the first segment (the one attached to the head) is always called the scape, and the second segment is called the pedicel.
The first insects were landbound, but about 400 million years ago in the Devonian period one lineage of insects evolved flight, the first animals to do so. [1] The oldest insect fossil has been proposed to be Rhyniognatha hirsti , estimated to be 400 million years old, but the insect identity of the fossil has been contested. [ 3 ]
There is a trade-off between visual acuity and chemical or tactile acuity, such that most insects with well-developed eyes have reduced or simple antennae, and vice versa. Insects perceive sound by different mechanisms, such as thin vibrating membranes . [69] Insects were the earliest organisms to produce and sense sounds.
The term antenna was first used to refer to the antennae of insects and subsequently in engineering. [56] Insect pheromones have a highly species-specific effect, meaning that they elicit the desired behavioral response only in biological specificity but not in individuals of other species.
As is usually the case with insects, there are variations: some moths, such as species of Serrodes and Achaea do pierce fruit to the extent that they are regarded as serious orchard pests. [8] Some moths do not feed after emerging from the pupa, and have greatly reduced, vestigial mouthparts or none at all.
The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick bugs, walkingsticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's darning needles , although this name is shared by both dragonflies and crane flies. [ 1 ]
Insects do not have lungs; oxygen and other gases, such as carbon dioxide, pass through their exoskeleton via tiny valves called spiracles. Insects also lack closed blood vessels ; instead, they have a long, thin, perforated tube along the top of the body (called the "dorsal aorta") that functions like a heart, and pumps haemolymph toward the ...