Tuesday, May 15, 2012

8 Familiar Insect Families

1) Crickets, locusts, grasshoppers, and cockroaches are all part of the same insect order because they share the same type of wings that fold in a straight line against their body. Their official name is orthoptera... which means "straight wings." These insects can cause a lot of damage to farmer's crops with their insatiable appetite.
2) Dragonflies, damselflies are part of the order odonata which means "toothed." They have toothlike parts on their mouths. These insects have long slender bodies with two sets of wings on their backs.
3) Beetles are the most numerous insect. Their name is coleoptera - which means "sheath wings."
4) Aphids, tree hoppers, leaf hoppers, and cicadas. Their order name is homoptera which means "same wings." These are also a nuisance to farmers.
5) Bees, ants and wasps. We consider these social creatures because they live with families or colonies. Their order name is hymenoptera - which means "membrane wings."
6) Butterflies and moths.These creatures display God's amazing design. They are some of the most beautiful insects on earth. Their order name is lepidoptera - which means scale wings.
7) True bugs are known for how they suck sap from plants or bodies. Their order name is hemipter - or half wings. Members of this group include bed bugs, stinkbugs, and water striders.
8) Flies, gnats, and mosquitoes are the least popular of all insects.These bugs carry diseases. Their order name is diptera- which means "two wings. Some flies look very much like bees, but if look closely you will see that it has only two wings - and thus a fly!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Insect Info

Arthropods
These are invertebrates that have an external skeleton, jointed legs, and segmented bodies.

Their external skeletons are made of a material called chitin. This external skeleton provides the insect with protection.

Their jointed legs allow them flexibility to move and jump.

Most all arthropods belong to the class called insects. An insect has three distinct body parts - the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. Each insect has antennae - these are body parts that enable them to feel, hear and taste. Most insects have 3 pairs of legs and one or more pairs of wings.

Insects are usually brought into this world as an egg in complete metamorphosis the insect then changes and grows into larvae, which eats and grows and then eventually changes into the resting stage called pupa. Example of this include the butterfly and moth. After these changes, the insect has one final change and enters its life as an adult.

Some insects go through incomplete metamorphosis. Which mean they begin as an egg, become a nymph and then molt several times and become an adult.

Entomologists are scientists that study insects... Take a nature walk and see if you can find some good insect examples... remember the parts they need to have to be considered insects.