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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.
1800–1700 BC, Minoan jewellery, Malia, Crete: two golden bees over a honey comb Entomology, the scientific study of insects and closely related terrestrial arthropods, has been impelled by the necessity of societies to protect themselves from insect-borne diseases, crop losses to pest insects, and insect-related discomfort, as well as by people's natural curiosity.
In biology, evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organization , from kingdoms to species , and individual organisms and molecules , such as DNA and proteins .
The evolution of insect wings has been a subject of debate; it has been suggested they came from modified gills, flaps on the spiracles, or an appendage, the epicoxa, at the base of the legs. [121] More recently, entomologists have favored evolution of wings from lobes of the notum , of the pleuron , or more likely both. [ 122 ]
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, [2] [3] in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. [4] Many of the species are parasitic. Females typically have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise ...
Adults capture insect prey in the air, making use of their acute vision and highly controlled flight. Dragonfly returns to same perch each time it darts out to catch very small flying prey. The mating system of dragonflies is complex, and they are among the few insect groups that have a system of indirect sperm transfer along with sperm storage ...
The evolutionary origin of the insect wing is debated. During the 19th century, the question of insect wing evolution originally rested on two main positions. One position postulated insect wings evolved from pre-existing structures, while the second proposed insect wings were entirely novel formations.
The subphylum Hexapoda (from Greek for 'six legs') or hexapods comprises the largest clade of arthropods and includes most of the extant arthropod species. It includes the crown group class Insecta (true insects), as well as the much smaller clade Entognatha, which includes three classes of wingless arthropods that were once considered insects: Collembola (springtails), Protura (coneheads) and ...