Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order:
There are over 300,000 species of beetles. Wings create center seam on back.
The waterpenny is a larval form of coleoptera.
This order contains butterflies and moths. They are characterized by scaly wings that are "dusty" when touched. Contrary to popular belief, butterflies and moths are still capable of flight after they've been touched and some of the scales have been removed.
Hint: Some of the species of Lepidoptera have spots like leopards do.
Some Lepidopterans have evolved predatory defense mechanisms. This moth hopes to frighten away predators with the large eyespots on its wings. With the wings open, the moth resembles an owl. The owl is a predator to many of those that prey upon moths.
These insects have very pronounced divisions between body segments. Examples are bees, wasps and ants.
"Di" means two and "ptera" refers to wings. These insects have short antennae, two wings and two modified hind-wings called halteres. The halteres sometimes resemble lollipops or take on a different shape as shown here.
Funny story: In my search to obtain a picture of a fly, I thought to myself, "Self? If one needed a picture of a fly, where would one have access to several flies at once? Yes, a dumpster." So off to the dumpster I went. This dumpster was RIPE to say the least. I convinced myself that it would take no more than 30 seconds to click a nice picture of a fly. Certainly I could hold my breath for that long. However, flies are quick! I took several "blurry," "not close enough," "backwards," "missed the fly" pictures. All the while holding my breath, breathing shallowly, trying to get used to the smell, then holding my breath again. Let me remind you how bad this smelled. The smell of this dumpster attracted a carrion beetle! (which you can see in the coleoptera section of this page.) Finally I was fed up and walked beneath the fir tree overhanging the dumpster. Hoping maybe to catch the smell of the tree? Under the tree there were several branches stripped of their needles with funny green bumps on them. The "bumps" were flies! So I crept up, positioning the camera closer, closer and took a beautiful picture, up close and personal of a member of the order: diptera. Surprisingly it didn't fly away. Ever. Upon closer examination this fly it was dead. The sap of the tree had trapped several flies like fly paper and there they met their demise. I was overjoyed at the sight of 20 perfectly preserved dead flies and broke a couple twigs from the tree running off to breathe some fresh air and take the pictures you see here.
This is the only order of insects that can truly be called BUGS! Their wings make an X pattern on their back.
These guys carry their home on their back. Their wings are held tent-like over their abdomen.
Examples of insects in this category are leafhoppers, aphids and cicadas.
The cicada buzz is the typical sound of a hot, late summer afternoon.
It is the sound of the insects that signal the end of summer, whereas the birds signaled the onset of spring.
Insects of this order are characterized by a very large femur. Examples are grasshoppers, crickets, roaches, katydids....
The cricket chirp is the result of wing stridulation. In other words, the male's wings are formed so there is a "file" on one wing and a "scraper" on the other. When the cricket rubs these past one another they produce the characteristic high pitched chirping sound.
One truly can get a reasonable estimate by listening to the sound of a cricket. Simply count the number of chirps in 13 seconds and add 40 to determine the temperature in oF.
O-don-a-ta O-don-a-ta Dra-gon-fly Dra-gon-fly
When sung to the tune of Frere Jaques it makes sense.
Not only does this order contain dragonflies but also damselflies. No, the dragons aren't the boys and the damsels the girls. These insects are designated by the way they hold their wings at rest. A dragonfly will hold its wings flat and out to the sides of its body when resting. A damselfly will hold its wings up over its body when resting.
Odonata males will hold the female up to an hour after mating to ensure deposition of his semen.
Odonata larvae are the stuff of sci-fi movies. They have very large eyes in proportion to the size of their body. The nymphs are aquatic and move by taking in and expelling air through their rectal gills.
These insects look extremely fragile and well, ephemeral.
The adults have a life span of only two days. During this short lifetime they must find a mate, consumate the relationship and then females must lay their eggs. There is so much to do (and so little time) that the adults don't even eat!
Adult mayflies have 2 very long posterior cerci whereas their larvae have three.
Adult mayflies are attracted to light and are often found covering windows in lake-side communities.
Mayfly larvae have plate or feather like gills on their abdomen with two or three hairlike tails.
The wings of this order are membranous like Lepidoptera, but they are not covered with scales. Antennae are very long.
The Plecoptera larva look similar to Ephemeroptera, the distinguishing characteristic is the lack of gills.
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