Katie-+Insecta

INSECTA Subkingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda (means jointed limbs) Class: Insecta

Body Plan: Three pairs of legs, three body parts (head, abdomen, thorax), typically two pairs of wings, antennae, compound eyes, small body type. Germ Layers: Insect embryos have an endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. Symmetry: Bilateral symmetry Coelomate: Insects do not contain a coelomate

Habitat: Insects are capable of inhabiting almost any type of environment: aquatic, terrestrial, deserts, rain forests, and arctic. Movement: Insects are capable of flying using four parts: wings, joints, dorsoventral and longitudinal muscles). Most insects walk on six legs, making them tripedal. Skeletal System: Insects have an exoskeleton made of chitin. Muscles are connected to the exoskeleton

Evolutionary Advancement: Insects are the only invertebrates that can fly, which is a major reason for insects diversity and success.

Special Adaptations: Complex methods of communication, metamorphic cycles (complete and incomplete) and camouflage. Only invertebrates with the capability to fly.

Feeding Patterns: Feeding patterns vary throughout specific groups of insects.

Respiration: Insects breathe through a tracheal system. Insects do not have lungs, and are very small so the essential gasses can travel throughout the body.

Circulation: Open circulatory system. Hemolymph (90% fluid) is bathed over organs. Hemolymph contains a higher concentration of amino acids, proteins, etc, compared to vertebrates, but does not carry oxygen through the body so the hemolymph is green.

Excretory: Insects have an alimentary canal and a complete digestive system

Nervous: Insects have a complex nervous system, mostly consisting of ganglia (tight-knit group of interconnected neurons). Antennae cancalso be used for two senses: touch and smell.

Reproduction: Internal fertilization, dioecious (specific males and females only). In most cases, females mate only once in their life, but store sperm in their abdomen to continue to reproduce throughout their lifetime. Mating is facilitated by pheromones released by the female.

Bibliographies: http://bugguide.net/node/view/52 http://eol.org/pages/344/entries/20664535/details#comprehensive_description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioecy http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/tutorial/digest.html http://www.mcwdn.org/Animals/Insect.html http://biology.unm.edu/ccouncil/Biology_203/Summaries/Protostomes.htm