Insect morphology
Videos
Page
Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insects from other arthropods: they have a body divided into three regions, three pairs of legs, and mouthparts located outside of the head capsule. This position of the mouthparts divides them from their closest relatives, the non-insect hexapods, which include Protura, Diplura, and Collembola.
Head of Orthoptera, Acrididae. a:antenna; b:ocelli; c:vertex; d:compound eye; e:occiput; f:gena; g:pleurostoma; h:mandible; i:labial palp; j:maxillary palps; k:maxilla; l:labrum; m:clypeus; n:frons
Larva of beetle, family Cerambycidae, showing sclerotised epicranium; rest of body hardly sclerotised
Larva of Syrphid fly, member of Cyclorrhapha, without epicranium, almost without sclerotisation apart from its jaws.
Closeup of a fire ant, showing fine sensory hairs on antennae
Morphology (biology)
Videos
Page
Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.
Morphology of a male skeleton shrimp, Caprella mutica