Difference between revisions of "Insect Collection"
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Revision as of 13:50, 15 October 2012
Insects are small, invertebrate animals found in nearly every conceivable terrestrial environment. As adults, they have stiff exoskeletons and their bodies are organized into three main regions: head, thorax and abdomen. The head contains one pair of antennae, a pair of compound eyes, and mouth parts that are modified to slice, suck, pierce, lap and/or tear. The thorax contains three pairs of legs and one or two pairs of wings capable of flight. Many insects are organized and grouped by their wing form and function. The adult abdomen does not contain legs, but may contain a stinger – ouch!
The basic insect body plan has many variations – think of the differences between a mosquito and a ladybug – and more than 1,200,000 species of insects exist. Within the class insect, these species are grouped into approximately 26 orders (there is some flux in the number of recognized orders). Approximately one third of these orders are represented in our collection.
Our insect collection was started decades ago and contains thousands of insects collected by current and former faculty and students. The specimens in this collection are used by several classes at 鶹Ƶ, including Organismal Biology, Invertebrate Zoology, Entomology, Freshwater Biology and Aquatic Stewardship. The collection is also used by Entomologists in the broader, scientific community.
Insect Orders Represented in the Collection
[Diptera]
[Odonata]