The evolutionary ancestry of arthropods dates back to the Cambrian period. The group is generally regarded as monophyletic, and many analyses support the placement of arthropods with cycloneuralians (or their constituent clades) in a superphylum Ecdysozoa. Overall, however, the basal relationships of animals are not yet well resolved. Likewise, the relationships between various arthropod groups are still actively debated. Today, arthropods contribute to the human food supply both directly as food, and more importantly, indirectly as pollinators of crops. Some species are known to spread severe disease to humans, livestock, and crops. (Full article...)
Herefordopterus is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Herefordopterus is classified as part of the family Hughmilleriidae, a basal family in the highly derived Pterygotioidea superfamily of eurypterids. Fossils of the single and type species, H. banksii, have been discovered in deposits of Silurian age in Herefordshire and Shropshire, England. The genus is named after Herefordshire, where most of the Herefordopterus fossils have been found. The specific epithet honors Richard Banks, who found several well-preserved specimens, including the first Herefordopterus fossils.
Herefordopterus is classified in Hughmilleriidae, a pterygotioid family that is differentiated by their streamlined bodies, the enlargement of its medium-sized chelicerae and the presence of paired spines on the walking appendages. It was distinguished for combining characteristics of Hughmilleria with those of the derived pterygotioids, showing a more advanced morphology than that of Hughmilleria. With the biggest specimen measuring 12 centimetres (5 inches) in length, Herefordopterus is considered a eurypterid of small size. (Full article...)
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Novomessor albisetosus worker specimen
Novomessor albisetosus, also known as the desert harvester ant, is a species of ant found in the United States and Mexico. A member of the genus Novomessor in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1886. It was originally placed in the genus Aphaenogaster, but a recent phylogenetic study concluded that it is genetically distinct and should be separated. It is a medium-sized species, measuring 6 to 8.5 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 in) and has a ferruginous body color. It can be distinguished from other Novomessor species by its shorter head and subparallel eyes.
Novomessor albisetosus is found in desert and woodland habitats, nesting underground or under stones. The ants are active during the morning and evening but not when it is midday or the middle of the night. They forage for foods such as insect pieces, plant tissues and fruit. They may forage individually but cooperate when transporting large food items. Army ants are known to prey on this species. Nuptial flights begin in June. Workers are considered matured when half of their time is spent outside. (Full article...)
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.
The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an ovipositor for laying eggs in or near a food source for the larvae, though in the Aculeata the ovipositor is often modified instead into a sting used for defense or prey capture. Wasps play many ecological roles. Some are predators or pollinators, whether to feed themselves or to provision their nests. Many, notably the cuckoo wasps, are kleptoparasites, laying eggs in the nests of other wasps. Many of the solitary wasps are parasitoidal, meaning they lay eggs on or in other insects (any life stage from egg to adult) and often provision their own nests with such hosts. Unlike true parasites, the wasp larvae eventually kill their hosts. Solitary wasps parasitize almost every pest insect, making wasps valuable in horticulture for biological pest control of species such as whitefly in tomatoes and other crops.
Wasps first appeared in the fossil record in the Jurassic, and diversified into many surviving superfamilies by the Cretaceous. They are a successful and diverse group of insects with tens of thousands of described species; wasps have spread to all parts of the world except for the polar regions. The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet, at up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length; among the largest solitary wasps is a group of species known as tarantula hawks, along with the giant scoliid of Indonesia (Megascolia procer). The smallest wasps are solitary parasitoid wasps in the family Mymaridae, including the world's smallest known insect, with a body length of only 0.139 mm (0.0055 in), and the smallest known flying insect, only 0.15 mm (0.0059 in) long. (Full article...)
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Helicoverpa zea, commonly known as the corn earworm, is a species (formerly in the genus Heliothis) in the family Noctuidae. The larva of the mothHelicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest. Since it is polyphagous (feeds on many different plants) during the larval stage, the species has been given many different common names, including the cotton bollworm and the tomato fruitworm. It also consumes a wide variety of other crops.
The species is widely distributed across the Americas with the exception of northern Canada and Alaska. It has become resistant to many pesticides, but can be controlled with integrated pest management techniques including deep ploughing, trap crops, chemical control using mineral oil, and biological controls.
The species migrates seasonally, at night, and can be carried downwind up to 400 km. Pupae can make use of diapause to wait out adverse environmental conditions, especially at high latitudes and in drought. (Full article...)
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Male Unicorn sikus, viewed from above (legs omitted).
Unicorn ("one horn", in Latin) is a genus of goblin spiders (family Oonopidae) from South America, containing seven species that occur predominantly in high elevation, semi-desert regions of Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Individuals are relatively large for goblin spiders, measuring up to 3.0 mm (0.12 in) in body length. The genus name refers to a characteristic pointed projection between the eyes and jaws of males. In at least one species, broken-off tips of the male pedipalps have been found within the genitalia of females, postulated as a means of sperm competition. Unicorn possesses several traits that suggest it is a relatively "primitive" member of the Oonopidae, and is classified with other similar, soft-bodied goblin spiders in the subfamily Sulsulinae. (Full article...)
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Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasiticmite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world. A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. Without management for Varroa mite, honey bee colonies typically collapse within 2 to 3 years in temperate climates. These mites can infest Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, and Apis cerana, the Asian honey bee. Due to very similar physical characteristics, this species was thought to be the closely related Varroa jacobsoni prior to 2000, but they were found to be two separate species after DNA analysis.
Parasitism of bees by mites in the genus Varroa is called varroosis. The Varroa mite can reproduce only in a honey bee colony. It attaches to the body of the bee and weakens the bee. The species is a vector for at least five debilitating bee viruses, including RNA viruses such as the deformed wing virus (DWV). The Varroa mite is the parasite with possibly the most pronounced economic impact on the beekeeping industry and is one of multiple stress factors contributing to the higher levels of bee losses around the world. Varroa mite has also been implicated as one of the multiple causes of colony collapse disorder.
Management of this pest focuses on reducing mite numbers through monitoring to avoid significant hive losses or death. 3% of bees infested in a hive is considered an economic threshold where damage is high enough to warrant additional management. Miticides, are available, though some are difficult to time correctly while avoiding harm to the hive, and resistance has occurred for others. Screened bottom boards on hives can be used for both monitoring and mite removal, and drone comb that mites prefer can be used as a trap to remove mites from the hive. Honey bee lines in breeding programs also show partial resistance to Varroa mite through increased hygienic behavior that is being incorporated as an additional management strategy. (Full article...)
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Black-headed sugar ant worker from Strangways, Victoria
The black-headed sugar ant (Camponotus nigriceps), also known as the brown sugar ant, is a species of Formicinaeant endemic to Australia. Found throughout most states, the species is a member of the genus Camponotus, a cosmopolitan genus of ants commonly known as carpenter ants. It was formally described and named by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858. These ants are characterised by their black head, reddish-brown mesosoma and black gaster, which can change in colour.
The species is polymorphic: workers and soldiers measure 6 to 12 millimetres (0.24 to 0.47 in) and males are 12 millimetres (0.47 in). The queens are the largest members of the colony, measuring 16 millimetres (0.63 in). Colonies dwell in dry regions, including open areas or in dry sclerophyll woodland, where they nest in soil, large mounds or under stones. Nuptial flight occurs in summer and nests can hold several thousand individuals. Considered a household pest, black-headed sugar ants feed on sweet foods and insects and tend to butterfly larvae. Numerous birds and fish prey on these ants. (Full article...)
Prionomyrmecini is an anttribe belonging to the subfamily Myrmeciinae established by William Morton Wheeler in 1915. Two members are a part of this tribe, the extant Nothomyrmecia and the extinct Prionomyrmex. The tribe was once considered a subfamily due to the similarities between Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex, but such reclassification was not widely accepted by the scientific community. These ants can be identified by their long slender bodies, powerful stingers and elongated mandibles. Fossil Prionomyrmecini ants were once found throughout Europe, possibly nesting in trees and preferring jungle habitats. Today, Prionomyrmecini is only found in Australia, preferring old-growth mallee woodland surrounded by Eucalyptus trees. Nothomyrmecia workers feed on nectar and arthropods, using their compound eyes for prey and navigational purposes. Owing to their primitive nature, they do not recruit others to food sources or create pheromone trails. Nothomyrmecia colonies are small, consisting of 50 to 100 individuals. (Full article...)
The genus Anopheles diverged from other mosquitoes approximately 100 million years ago (mya), and, like other mosquitoes, the eggs, larvae, and pupae are aquatic. The Anopheles larva has no respiratory siphon through which to breathe, so it breathes and feeds with its body horizontal to the surface of the water. The adult mosquito hatches from the surface and feeds on the nectar of flowers; the female mosquito also feeds on blood, which animal diet allows them to carry and transmit parasites between hosts. The adult's feeding position is head-down, unlike the horizontal stance of the culicines. Anopheles are distributed almost worldwide, throughout the tropics, the subtropics, and the temperate regions of planet Earth. In hot weather, adult Anophelesaestivate, which is a state of dormancy that enables the mosquito to survive in hot dry regions, such as the Sahel. (Full article...)
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies (which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Epiprocta) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. Damselflies have existed since the Late Jurassic, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
All damselflies are predatory insects; both nymphs and adults actively hunt and eat other insects. The nymphs are aquatic, with different species living in a variety of freshwater habitats including acidic bogs, ponds, lakes and rivers. The nymphs moult repeatedly, at the last moult climbing out of the water to undergo metamorphosis. The skin splits down the back, they emerge and inflate their wings and abdomen to gain their adult form. Their presence on a body of water indicates that it is relatively unpolluted, but their dependence on freshwater makes them vulnerable to damage to their wetland habitats.
Some species of damselfly have elaborate courtship behaviours. Many species are sexually dimorphic, the males often being more brightly coloured than the females. Like dragonflies, they reproduce using indirect insemination and delayed fertilisation. A mating pair form a shape known as a "heart" or "wheel", the male clasping the female at the back of the head, the female curling her abdomen down to pick up sperm from secondary genitalia at the base of the male's abdomen. The pair often remain together with the male still clasping the female while she lays eggs within the tissue of plants in or near water using a robust ovipositor. (Full article...)
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John S. Clark (21 March 1885 – 1 June 1956) was a Scottish-born Australian entomologist and myrmecologist known for his study of Australian ants. Born in Glasgow, he developed an interest in entomology at a young age. Clark first arrived in Australia in 1905 and originally worked for the state railways in Queensland. He developed an interest in ants shortly afterwards, collecting his first specimens in North Queensland. He married his first wife, Maggie Forbes in 1908, who bore four children, and died in 1935. He married his second wife, Phyllis Marjorie Claringbulls in 1939 and had two daughters with her. On her suicide in 1943, Clark sent his daughters to an orphanage.
In 1919, Clark worked as the assistant to the entomologist on probation in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture, but in 1920, he took on this position full-time. He started to publish his first articles about pest insects and ants from 1921; in 1926 he became an entomologist at the National Museum in Melbourne, remaining there for 20 years. Clark continued to publish more articles until he resigned from the National Museum of Victoria in 1944. Living in poverty, Clark lived a reclusive life, publishing his last book in 1951. He died on 1 June 1956 at the age of 71, survived by his six children. One of Clark's most notable achievements was describing Nothomyrmecia macrops, the most primitive living ant. Several ants have been named after him in recognition of his contributions. (Full article...)
Erettopterus is a genus of large predatory eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Erettopterus have been discovered in deposits ranging from Early Silurian (the Rhuddanian age) to the Early Devonian (the Lochkovian age), and have been referred to several different species. Fossils have been recovered from two continents; Europe and North America. The genus name is composed by the Ancient Greek words ἐρέττω (eréttō), which means "rower", and πτερόν (pterón), which means "wing", and therefore, "rower wing".
Erettopterus is classified as part of the eurypterid family Pterygotidae, a family differentiated from other eurypterids by their flattened telsons (the most posterior segment of the body) and their modified chelicerae (frontal appendages), ending in well-developed chelae (claws). Although some pterygotid eurypterids, such as Jaekelopterus or Acutiramus grew to gigantic proportions, it is estimated that the largest species of Erettopterus, E. osiliensis, reached 90 cm (35 in). Erettopterus had a bilobed (divided into two lobes) telson, which is its main characteristic. The forms of chelicerae are very diverse between species, but they are generally very long with small curved teeth without serrations.
Studies on the chelicerae and compound eyes of Erettopterus have revealed that it was a predator with high visual acuity, but it was not as highly specialized or active as Jaekelopterus and Pterygotus, it was more like Slimonia acuminata, and probably used its enlarged chelicerae for grasping rather than a more specialized feeding. (Full article...)
Centipedes (from Neo-Latincenti-, "hundred", and Latinpes, pedis, "foot") are predatoryarthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greekχεῖλος, kheilos, "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix -poda, "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group which includes millipedes and other multi-legged animals. Centipedes are elongated segmented (metameric) creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. All centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful stings, injecting their venom through pincer-likeappendages known as forcipules or toxicognaths, which are actually modified legs instead of fangs. Despite the name, no centipede has exactly 100 pairs of legs; the number of pairs of legs is an odd number that ranges from 15 pairs to 191 pairs.
Centipedes are predominantly generalistcarnivorous, hunting for a variety of prey items that can be overpowered. They have a wide geographical range, which can be found in terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. Within these habitats, centipedes require a moist microhabitat because they lack the waxy cuticle of insects and arachnids, therefore causing them to rapidly lose water. Accordingly, they avoid direct sunlight by staying under cover or by being active at night. (Full article...)
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Artist's image
Hemigrapsus estellinensis is an extinctspecies of crab, formerly endemic to the Texas Panhandle. It was discovered by Gordon C. Creel in 1962 and was probably already extinct before his description was published in 1964, after the Estelline Salt Springs where it lived were contained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. H. estellinensis is closely related to species from the Pacific Ocean such as Hemigrapsus oregonensis, but lived 800 km (500 mi) inland in a hypersaline spring. It differed from its relatives by the pattern of spots on its back, and by the relative sizes of its limbs. (Full article...)
... that the fungus Entomophthora muscae makes flies climb upwards before killing them, so they are better able to release a shower of spores for the next cycle of infection?
Image 6This Zoea-stage larva is hardly recognisable as a crab, but each time it sheds its cuticle it remodels itself, eventually taking on its final crab form (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 8Some of the various hypotheses of myriapod phylogeny. Morphological studies (trees a and b) support a sister grouping of Diplopoda and Pauropoda, while studies of DNA or amino acid similarities suggest a variety of different relationships, including the relationship of Pauropoda and Symphyla in tree c. (from Myriapoda)
Image 14Body structure of a typical crustacean – krill (from Crustacean)
Image 15The house centipedeScutigera coleoptrata has rigid sclerites on each body segment. Supple chitin holds the sclerites together and connects the segments flexibly. Similar chitin connects the joints in the legs. Sclerotised tubular leg segments house the leg muscles, their nerves and attachments, leaving room for the passage of blood to and from the hemocoel (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 18Mature queen of a termite colony, showing how the unsclerotised cuticle stretches between the dark sclerites that failed to stretch as the abdomen grew to accommodate her ovaries (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 19 This fully-grown robber crab has tough fabric forming its joints, delicate biomineralized cuticle over its sensory antennae, optic-quality over its eyes, and strong, calcite-reinforced chitin armouring its body and legs; its pincers can break into coconuts (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 20The fangs in spiders' chelicerae are so sclerotised as to be greatly hardened and darkened (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 21Ghost crab, showing a variety of integument types in its exoskeleton, with transparent biomineralization over the eyes, strong biomineralization over the pincers, and tough chitin fabric in the joints and the bristles on the legs (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 28In honeypot antrepletes, the abdomens of the workers that hold the sugar solution grow vastly, but only the unsclerotised cuticle can stretch, leaving the unstretched sclerites as dark islands on the clear abdomen (from Arthropod exoskeleton)
Image 29Formation of anterior segments across arthropod taxa based on gene expression and neuroanatomical observations, Note the chelicera(Ch) and chelifore(Chf) arose from somite 1 and thus correspond to the first antenna(An/An1) of other arthropods. (from Chelicerata)
Two flesh-flies (Sarcophaga ruficornis species pictured) mating. The life cycle of the saprophagic flesh-fly larvae has been well researched and is very predictable. Different species prefer bodies in different states of decomposition, which allows forensic entomologists to extrapolate the time of death.
The light blue soldier crab (Mictyris longicarpus) inhabits beaches in the Indo-Pacific region. Soldier crabs filter sand or mud for microorganisms. They congregate during the low tide, and bury themselves in a corkscrew pattern during high tide, or whenever they are threatened.
Two Eastern Lubber grasshoppers (Romalea guttata) mating. Native to the southeastern and south central portion of the United States, it is well known both for its size and its unique coloration. During reproduction, the male grasshopper introduces sperm into the ovipositor through its aedeagus (reproductive organ), and inserts its spermatophore, a package containing the sperm, into the female's ovipositor.
Papilio polymnestor, the blue Mormon, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a woodland species, often seen on forest paths and near streams. The larvae feed on trees in the family Rutaceae, such as citrus. Young larvae are green with white markings and position themselves on the upper surface of leaves, relying on their cryptic colouring, which resembles bird droppings, for protection. Older larvae seek less conspicuous locations, and have a unique habit of securing their balance by weaving silk on the substratum. This adult male P. polymnestor butterfly was photographed in the Indian state of Kerala.
The orb-weaver spiders (family Araneidae) are the familiar builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields and forests. The family is a large one, including over 2800 species in over 160 genera worldwide, making it the third largest known (behind Salticidae and Linyphiidae). The web has always been thought of as an engineering marvel.
The Ozyptila praticola species of crab spider is found throughout Europe and the Middle East. They do not build webs to trap prey, but are active hunters. Crab spiders are so named because of their first two pairs of legs, which are held out to the side giving them a crab-like appearance. Also, like crabs, these spiders move sideways and backwards more easily than forwards.
A compound eye is a visual organ found in certain arthropods. The compound eye consists of between 12 and 1,000 ommatidia, little dark/bright sensors. The image perceived by the arthropod is "recalculated" from the numerous ommatidia which point in slightly different directions. In contrast to other eye types, there is no central lens or retina. Though the resulting image is poor in resolution, it can detect quick movements and, in some cases, the polarization of light.
Dragonflies have about 30,000 facets to their compound eyes, giving them nearly a 360° field of vision.
Planthoppers are insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. This photograph shows three adult Phromnia rosea planthoppers on a stem, with three nymphs underneath; the adults fold their wings in a tent-like fashion, while the nymphs are clad in a dense tangle of white wax threads. Both the adults and the nymphs feed by sucking sap from the host plant.
The Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, found in Europe and parts of West Asia. This photograph, taken in a chalk meadow at Yoesden Bank in Buckinghamshire, England, shows the underside of the folded wings of a male Adonis blue; the upper side is a bright, sky-blue.
Sympetrum danae, the black darter or black meadowhawk, is a species of dragonfly found in northern Europe, Asia, and North America. Both sexes are black and yellow, but the abdomen of the male is largely black while that of the female is largely yellow. Breeding takes place in shallow acidic pools, lake margins and ditches in lowland heaths and moorland bogs. The female lays her eggs during flight by dipping the tip of her abdomen into the water. The eggs hatch the following spring, the larvae developing very rapidly and emerging as adults in as little as two months. The male seen here is perched on a frond of bracken on Warren Heath in Hampshire, England.
The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is a well-known colourful butterfly, found on every continent except Antarctica. It occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn.
Xylotrupes socrates (Siamese rhinoceros beetle, or "fighting beetle"), male, on a banana leaf. This scarab beetle is particularly known for its role in insect fighting in Northern Laos and Thailand.
Leptosia nina, known as the psyche, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae (the sulphurs, yellows and whites), found in the Indian subcontinent, southeastern Asia, and Australia. It has a small wingspan of 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in). The upper side of the otherwise white forewing has a large, somewhat pear-shaped, black spot; this spot is also present on the underside which is scattered with greenish dots and speckles, sometimes arranged in bands. This L. nina butterfly was photographed in Kerala, India.
A female subimago of a March Brown mayfly (Rhithrogena germanica). Mayflies belong to the orderEphemeroptera, and the only insects that have a subimago phase. This stage is a favourite food of many fish, and many fishing flies are modeled to resemble them. They are aquatic insects whose nymph stage usually lasts one year in freshwater. The adults are short-lived, from as little as thirty minutes to a few days depending on the species.
The European paper wasp (Polistes dominula or Polistes dominulus) is one of the most common species of wasps in the genus Polistes. Originally described in 1791 by German naturalist Johann Ludwig Christ as Vespa dominula, it is native to southern Europe and North Africa, as well as temperate parts of Asia as far east as China. It has also been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Americas. The species is common and cosmopolitan due to its exceptional survival features, such as a productive colony cycle, a short development time and a higher ability to endure predator attacks. It generally lives in temperate, terrestrial habitats, such as chaparral, forest and grassland biomes.
This picture shows a young European paper wasp queen guarding her nest and eggs.
The rose chafer (Cetonia aurata) is a reasonably large beetle (20 mm/¾ in long) that has metallic green coloration with a distinct V shaped scutellum, the small triangular area between the wing cases just below the thorax. Rose chafers are found over southern and central Europe and the southern part of the UK.
A honey bee extracts nectar from a flower using its proboscis. Tiny hairs covering the bee's body maintain a slight electrostatic charge, causing pollen from the flower's anthers to stick to the bee's hairs, allowing for pollination when the bee moves on to another flower.
The longtail tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) is a freshwater crustacean resembling a miniature horseshoe crab. It is one of the oldest animal species still in existence. Like its relative Triops cancriformis, the longtail tadpole shrimp is considered a living fossil because its basic prehistoric morphology has changed little in the last 70 million years, exactly matching ancient fossils.
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