STICK INSECTS

                                                                                                                           STICK
INSECTS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Stick insects are insects in the order Phasmatodea (or Phasmida).

The whole order is camouflaged as either sticks or leaves. Leaf insects are generally the family Phylliidae. They are found in South and southeast Asia to New Zealand.Over 3,000 species have been described.The name Phasmatodea comes from Ancient Greek phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom.

Life habit

The order has a worldwide distribution, but most species are found in the tropics. These tropic species vary from stick like species to those resembling bark, leaves and even moss or lichen. The stick insect can sometimes reach over 13 inches (33 cm) long. The longest is Chan's megastick.

A few species, such as Carausius morosus, are even able to change their pigmentation to match their surroundings. Many species are wingless, or have reduced wings.

Phasmids are herbivorous, feeding mostly on the leaves of trees and shrubs(e.g. privet). Their eggs are usually camouflaged, resembling plant seeds, and may remain dormant for a full season or more before hatching. The nymphs are born already closely resembling the adults.

Behaviour

Stick insects make rhythmic, repetitive side-to-side movements. This is like vegetation moving in the wind.
Also, the swaying movements may help the insects see objects against the background. Rocking movements by these sedentary (sitting) insects may replace flying or running as way to define objects in the visual field.
Some species of phasmid are able to produce a defensive spray when threatened. The spray contains pungent-smelling volatile molecules which the insect gets from its food plant. The spray from one species, Megacrania nigrosulfurea, is even used as a treatment for skin infections by a tribe in Papua New Guinea by virtue of its antibacterial constituents.

Mating involves long pairings. A record among insects, the Indian stick insect Necroscia sparaxes was seen coupled for 79 days at a time. It is not uncommon for this species to assume the mating posture for days or weeks on end, and among some species (Diapheromera veliei Walsh and D. Covilleae), pairing has been seen to last three to 136 hours in captivity.Explanations for this behaviour range from males guarding their mates against other males, to the view that the pairings are a defensive alliance against predators.

MAY FLY

                                                                                                                    

         MAY FLY

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Mayflies or shadflies are insects belonging to the order Ephemeroptera (from the Greekephemeros = "short-lived" (literally "lasting a day" "daily" or "day-long"), and πτερόν, pteron = "wing", referring to the brief lifespan of adults). They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called "naiad" or, colloquially, "nymph") usually lasts one year in fresh water. The adults are short-lived, from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species. About 2,500 species are known worldwide, including about 630 species in North America.The naiads live primarily in streams under rocks, decaying vegetation, or in the sediment. Few species live in lakes, but they are among the most prolific. For example, the emergence of one species of Hexagenia was recorded on Doppler weather radar along the shores of Lake Erie.

Most species feed on algae or diatoms, but a few species are predatory. The naiad stage may last from several months to several years, with a number of moults along the way. Most mayfly naiads are distinctive in having seven pairs of gills on the dorsum of the abdomen. In addition, most possess three long cerci or tails at the end of their bodies. Some species, notably in the genus Epeorus, have only two tails. In the last aquatic stage, dark wingpads are visible. Developmentally, these insects are considered hemimetabolous. A more casual and familiar term is "incomplete metamorphosis". Mayflies are unique among insects in that they moult one more time after acquiring functional wings (this is also known as the alate stage); this last-but-one winged instar usually lives a very short time, often a matter of hours, and is known as a subimago or to fly fishermen as a dun. Mayflies in this stage are a favourite food of many fish, and many fishing flies are modelled to resemble them.

BEETLE

                 BEETLE                                                                                                                                                                                                         The Coleoptera  order of insects is commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek  koleos, meaning "sheath"; and  pteron, meaning "wing", thus "sheathed wing", because most beetles have two pairs of wings, the front pair, the "elytra", being hardened and thickened into a shell like protection for the rear pair and the beetle's abdomen. The superficial consistency of most beetles' morphology, in particular their possession of elytra, has long suggested that the Coleoptera are monophyletic, but growing evidence indicates this is unjustified, there being arguments for example, in favor of allocating the current suborder Adephaga their own order, or very likely even more than one.

Overview

The Coleoptera includes more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known types of animal life-forms. About 40% of all described insect species are beetles (about 400,000 species and new species are discovered frequently. Some estimates put the total number of species, described and undescribed, at as high as 100 million, but a figure of one million is more widely accepted.The largest taxonomic family is commonly thought to be the Curculionidae (the weevils or snout beetles), but recently the Staphylinidae (the rove beetles) have claimed this title.[citation needed].

The diversity of beetles is very wide. They are found in all major habitats, except marine and the polar regions. They have many classes of ecological effects; particular species are adapted to practically every kind of diet. Some are nonspecialist detritus feeders, breaking down animal and plant debris; some feed on particular kinds of carrion such as flesh or hide; some feed on wastes such as dung; some feed on fungi, some on particular species of plants, others on a wide range of plants. Some are generalist pollen, flower and fruit eaters. Some are predatory, usually on other invertebrates; some are parasites or parasitoids. Many of the predatory species are important controls of agricultural pests. For example, beetles in the family Coccinellidae   aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other insects that damage crops.

                                    Conversely, beetles are prey of various invertebrates and vertebrates, including other insects, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The Coleoptera are not generally serious pests, but they include agricultural and industrial pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the boll weevil Anthonomus grandis, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, and the mungbean or cowpea beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Also included is the death-watch beetle, the larvae of which can cause serious structural damage to buildings by boring into the timbers.

INSECTS

                                                                                              INSECTS                                                                                                                                                                          Insect, common name given to any animal of a class belonging to the arthropod phylum. The insects are the largest class in the animal world, outnumbering all other animals. At least 800,000 species have been described, and entomologists believe that as many or more remain to be discovered. The class is distributed throughout the world from the polar regions to the tropics and is found on land, in fresh and salt water, and in salt lakes and hot springs. The insects reach their greatest number and variety, however, in the tropics. In size, the insects also exhibit great variation. Some small parasitic insects are less than 0.025 cm (less than 0.01 in) in length when fully grown, whereas at least one fossilized species related to the modern dragonflies is known to have had a wingspread of more than 60 cm (24 in). The largest insects today are certain stick insects about 30 cm (about 12 in) long and certain moths with wingspans of about 30 cm (about 12 in).

Insects also are the most highly developed class of invertebrate animals, with the exception of some mollusks. Insects such as the bees, ants, and termites have elaborate social structures in which the various forms of activity necessary for the feeding, shelter, and reproduction of the colony are divided among individuals especially adapted for the various activities. Also, most insects achieve maturity by metamorphosis rather than by direct growth. In most species, the individual passes through at least two distinct and dissimilar stages before reaching its adult form.

In their living and feeding habits, the insects exhibit extreme variations. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the life cycle of various species. Thus the so-called 17-year locust matures over a period of 13 to 17 years. The ordinary house fly can reach maturity in about ten days, and certain parasitic wasps reach their mature form seven days after the eggs have been laid. In general the insects are very precisely adapted to the environments in which they live, and many species depend on a single variety of plant, usually feeding on one specific portion of the plant such as the leaves, stem, flowers, or roots. The relationship between insect and plant is frequently a necessary one for the growth and reproduction of the plant, as with plants that depend on insects for pollination. A number of insect species do not feed on living plants but act as scavengers. Some of these species live on decaying vegetable matter and others on dung or the carcasses of animals. The activities of the scavenger insects hasten the decomposition of all kinds of dead organic material.

GRASS HOPPER

                                                                                               GRASS HOPPER                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera, sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper to distinguish it from katydids, or bush crickets. Grasshopper species which change color and behavior at high population densities are called locusts.

Characteristics

They are easily confused with the other sub-order of Orthoptera, Ensifera (crickets), but are different in many aspects, such as the number of segments in their antennae and structure of the ovipositor, as well as the location of the tympana and modes of sound production. Ensiferans have antennae with at least 20–24 segments, and caeliferans have fewer. In evolutionary terms, the split between the Caelifera and the Ensifera is no more recent than the Permo-Triassic boundary (Zeuner 1939).^[2]Grasshoppers have antennae that are generally shorter than their body and short ovipositors. They also have pinchers or mandiblesthat cut and tear off food.^[1] Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing the hind femurs against the forewings or abdomen (stridulation), or by snapping the wings in flight. Tympana, if present, are on the sides of the first abdominal segment. The hind femora are typically long and strong, fitted for leaping. Generally they are winged, but hind wings are membranous while front wings (tegmina) are coriaceous and not fit for flight. Females are normally larger than males, with short ovipositors. Males have a single unpaired plate at the end of the abdomen. Females have two pairs of valves (triangles) at the end of the abdomen used to dig in sand during egg laying.

As with insects and other organisms possessing open circulatory systems, most body cavities and appendages contain the blood-like substance hemolymph, which in grasshoppers tends to appear green-ish when exposed to open air^{[citation needed]}. The dorsal vessel is the exception to the grasshopper's open circulation and extends from the head through the thorax to the hind end. It is a continuous tube with two regions: the heart, which is restricted to the abdomen; and the aorta, which extends from the heart to the head through the thorax. Haemolymph is pumped forward from the hind end and the sides of the body through a series of valved chambers, each of which contains a pair of lateral openings (ostia). The haemolymph continues to the aorta and is discharged through the front of the head. Accessory pumps carry haemolymph through the wing veins and along the legs and antennae before it flows back to the abdomen. This haemolymph circulates nutrients through the body and carries metabolic wastes to the malphighian tubes to be excreted. Respiration is performed using, air-filled tubes, which open at the surfaces of the thorax and abdomen through pairs of spiracles. The spiracle valves only open to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. The tracheoles, found at the end of the tracheal tubes, are insinuated between cells and carry oxygen throughout the body. (For more information on respiration, see Insect.)

Nervous system

The grasshopper's nervous system is controlled by ganglia, loose groups of nerve cells which are found in most species more advanced than cnidarians. In grasshoppers, there are ganglia in each segment as well as a larger set in the head, which are considered the brain. There is also a neuropile in the usingtracheae, through which all ganglia channel signals. The sense organs (sensory neurons) are found near the exterior of the body and consist of tiny hairs (sensilla), which consist of one sense cell and one nerve fibre, which are each specially calibrated to respond to a certain stimulus. While the sensilla are found all over the body, they are most dense on the antennae, palps (part of the mouth), and cerci(near the posterior). Grasshoppers also have tympanal organs for sound reception. Both these and the sensilla are linked to the brain via the neuropile.

WASP

                                                                                              WASP                                                                                                                                                            A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their numbers, or natural biocontrol. Parasitic wasps are increasingly used in agricultural pest control as they prey mostly on pest insects and have little impact on crops.The majority of wasp species (well over 100,000 species) are "parasitic" (technically known as parasitoids), and the ovipositor is used simply to lay eggs, often directly into the body of the host. The most familiar wasps belong to Aculeata, a "division" of Apocrita, whose ovipositors are adapted into a venomous sting, though many aculeate species do not sting. Aculeata also contains ants and bees, and many wasps are commonly mistaken for bees, and vice-versa. In a similar respect, insects called "velvet ants" (the family Mutillidae) are technically wasps.

The suborder Symphyta, known commonly as sawflies, differ from members of Apocrita by lacking a stinger and having a broader connection between the mesosoma and metasoma. In addition to this, Symphyta larvae are mostly herbivorous and "caterpillar-like", whereas those of Apocrita are largely predatory.

A much narrower and simpler but popular definition of the term wasp is any member of the aculeate family Vespidae, which includes (among others) the genera known in North America as yellow jackets (Vespula and Dolichovespula) and hornets (Vespa); in many countries outside of the Western Hemisphere, the vernacular usage of wasp is even further restricted to apply strictly to yellow jackets (e.g., the "common wasp")he various species of wasps fall into one of two main categories: solitary wasps and social wasps. Adult solitary wasps live and operate alone, and most do not construct nests (below); all adult solitary wasps are fertile. By contrast, social wasps exist in colonies numbering up to several thousand individuals and build nests but in some cases not all of the colony can reproduce. In some species, just the wasp queen and male wasps can mate, whilst the majority of the colony is made up of sterile female workers.
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ANT

                                                                                                                                                                                  ANT                                                                                                                                                                                               Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the orderHymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversifiedafter the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified.They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.

Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. Larger colonies consist mostly of sterile, wingless females forming castes of "workers", "soldiers", or other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens". The colonies sometimes are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.

Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with other species and mutualistic relationships.

has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. These parallels withhuman societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study. Many human cultures make use of ants in cuisine, medication, and rituals. Some species are valued in their role as biological pest control agents. Their ability to exploit resources may bring ants into conflict with humans, however, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. Some species, such as the red imported fire ant(Solenopsis invicta), are regarded as invasive species, establishing themselves in areas where they have been introduced accidentally.

HOUSE FLY

                                                        HOUSE FLY                                                                                                                                                                                                   The house fly overwinters in either the larval or pupal stage under manure piles or in other protected locations. Warm summer conditions are generally optimum for the development of the house fly, and it can complete its life cycle in as little as seven to ten days. However, under suboptimal conditions the life cycle may require up to two months. As many as 10 to 12 generations may occur annually in temperate regions, while more than 20 generations may occur in subtropical and  maggot is full-grown, it can crawl up to 50 feet to a dry, cool place near breeding material and transform to the pupal stage tropical regions.

 Larva: Early instar larvae are 3 to 9 mm long, typical creamy whitish in color, cylindrical but tapering toward the head. The head contains one pair of dark hooks. The posterior spiracles are slightly raised and the spiracular openings are sinuous slits which are completely surrounded by an oval black border. The legless maggot emerges from the egg in warm weather within eight to 20 hours. Maggots immediately begin feeding on and developing in the material in which the egg was laid.

The larva goes through three instars and a full-grown maggot, 7 to 12 mm long, has a greasy, cream-colored appearance. High-moisture manure favors the survival of the house fly larva. The optimal temperature for larval development is 35 to 38°C, though larval survival is greatest at 17 to 32°C. Larvae complete their development in four to 13 days at optimal temperatures, but require 14 to 30 days at temperatures of 12 to 17°C.

Nutrient-rich substrates such as animal manure provide an excellent developmental substrate. Very little manure is needed for larval development, and sand or soil containing small amounts of degraded manure allows for successful belowground development. When theThe house fly has a complete metamorphosis with distinct egg, larval or maggot, pupal and adult stages. 

Pupa: The pupal stage, about 8 mm long, is passed in a pupal case formed from the last larval skin which varies in color from yellow, red, brown, to black as the pupa ages. The shape of the pupa is quite different from the larva, being bluntly rounded at both ends. Pupae complete their development in two to six days at 32 to 37°C, but require 17 to 27 days at about 14°C). The emerging fly escapes from the pupal case through the use of an alternately swelling and shrinking sac, called the ptilinum, on the front of its head which it uses like a pneumatic hammer to break throug the case.

Egg: The white egg, about 1.2 mm in length, is laid singly but eggs are piled in small groups. Each female fly can lay up to 500 eggs in several batches of 75 to 150 eggs over a three to four day period. The number of eggs produced is a function of female size which, itself, is principally a result of larval nutrition. Maximum egg production occurs at intermediate temperatures, 25 to 30°C. Often, several flies will deposit their eggs in close proximity, leading to large masses of larvae and pupae. Eggs must remain moist or they will not hatch.

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MISQUITO

                                                                                                                                                                               MISQUITO                                                                                                                                                                              Many insects are considered pests by humans. Insects commonly regarded as pests include those that are parasitic (e.g. lice, bed bugs),transmit diseases (mosquitoes, flies), damage structures (termites), or destroy agricultural goods (locusts, weevils). Many entomologistsare involved in various forms of pest control, as in research for companies to produce insecticides, but increasingly rely on methods ofbiological pest control, or biocontrol. Biocontrol uses one organism to reduce the population density of another organism  the pest integrated pest management.

 and is considered a key element of Many insects are considered pests by humans. Insects commonly regarded as pests include those that are parasitic (e.g. lice, bed bugs),transmit diseases (mosquitoes, flies), damage structures (termites), or destroy agricultural goods (locusts, weevils). Many entomologistsare involved in various forms of pest control, as in research for companies to produce insecticides, but increasingly rely on methods ofbiological pest control, or biocontrol. Biocontrol uses one organism to reduce the population density of another organism — the pest — and is considered a key element of integrated pest management.