Insects
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Insects are a class, Insecta, of Arthropoda whose members are characterized by division into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. They are the dominant group of animals on earth, several hundred thousand different kinds having been described. They have lived on earth for about 350 million years, as compared with less than 2 million for man. While insects are often commercially valuable and useful as scavengers, many species are harmful, causing enormous losses in agriculture and storage. Three orders, HEMIPTERA, DIPTERA, and Siphonaptera, are of medical interest in that they cause disease in man and animal. (From Dorland, 27th ed; Borror et al., An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 4th ed, p1) |
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GEN: prefer specifics; /microbiol /parasitol /virol permitted; /drug eff: TN 111 |
Insects Categories.
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Cockroaches - Insects of the order Dictyoptera comprising several families including Blaberidae, BLATTELLIDAE, Blattidae (containing the American cockroach PERIPLANETA americana), Cryptocercidae, and Polyphagidae. |
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Coleoptera - The largest order of insects, comprising the beetles and weevils. |
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Diptera - An order of the class Insecta. Wings, when present, number two and distinguish Diptera from other so-called flies, while the halteres, or reduced hindwings, separate Diptera from other insects with one pair of wings. The order includes the families Calliphoridae, Oestridae, Phoridae, Sarcophagidae, Scatophagidae, Sciaridae, SIMULIIDAE, Tabanidae, Therevidae, Trypetidae, CERATOPOGONIDAE; CHIRONOMIDAE; CULICIDAE; DROSOPHILIDAE; GLOSSINIDAE; MUSCIDAE; TEPHRITIDAE; and PSYCHODIDAE.The larval form of Diptera species are called maggots (see LARVA). |
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Fleas - Parasitic, blood-sucking, wingless insects comprising the order Siphonaptera. |
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Hemiptera - A large order of insects characterized by having the mouth parts adapted to piercing or sucking. It is comprised of four suborders: HETEROPTERA, Auchenorrhyncha, Sternorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha. |
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Hymenoptera - An extensive order of highly specialized insects including bees, wasps, and ants. |
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Isoptera - An order of insects, restricted mostly to the tropics, containing at least eight families. A few species occur in temperate regions of North America. |
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Lepidoptera - A large order of insects comprising the butterflies and moths. |
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Lice - A general name for small, wingless, parasitic insects, previously of the order Phthiraptera. Though exact taxonomy is still controversial, they can be grouped in the orders ANOPLURA (sucking lice), MALLOPHAGA (biting lice), and Rhynchophthirina (elephant-lice). |
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Mantodea - An order of insects, comprising a single family (Mantidae), restricted almost entirely to the tropics. Only one species, the praying mantis (Mantis religiosa), is found in temperate habitats. |
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Orthoptera - An order of insects comprising two suborders: Caelifera and Ensifera. They consist of GRASSHOPPERS, locusts, and crickets (GRYLLIDAE). |
Insects Definitions and Terms
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