Antennata Flashcards
What type of group is antennata?
Paraphyletic - includes a common ancestor but not all of its descendents
What groups does Antennata contain?
Insects and Myriapods
NOT crustaceans
Grouped because they’re morpho logically similar but not more closely related genetically
Facts about insects
Largest and most diverse group of metazoans
2 million known species
350,000 species of beetles (25% of all known life forms)
Features of Antennata
- 1 pair of antennae
- 1 pair of mandibles
- 2 pairs of maxillae
- Uniramous limbs - they comprise of a single series of segments attached end to end as opposed to a biramous limb which branches
- Head separate from trunk
Features of class Insecta
- Body divided into head thorax and abdomen
- 3 pairs of legs on thorax
- No appendages on abdomen
- Adults usually have 2 pairs of wings on thorax
Insecta: locust
- Thorax in 3 segments
- Abdomen has 11 segments
- Compound eye made of thousands of repeating units or lenses, which are called ommatidia. Each ommatidia functions as a separate visual receiver. Image is mosaic from all ommatidia
- Locusts have relatively few ommatidia so low resolution image
- Three ocelli (simple eyes that use a single lens to collect and focus light) for light detection only
- Sclerotised mandibles
Insect exoskeleton
- Provides insects with a light and strong form of support for their internal organs and a rigid frame for muscular attachments and action required in flight and walking
- Chitin rods in protein matrix provide resistance to tearing
- Spiral layering of chitin rods gives extra strength
- ‘Tanning’ is protein to sclerotin - provides rigidity
- Monolayer of wax molecules for waterproofing
- Insect eggs have cuticle coat when laid to prevent desiccation
- Resilin is associated with the cuticle, which is an elastic and rubber-like protein with 100% elasticity. The energy stored during its compression is released when returned to its original state. Blocks of resilin are found in the thorax, and are of importance in the articulation of wings
Insect thorax and abdomen
- Insects have a dorsal vessel (the heart) which consists of a longitudinal tube running the length of the thorax and abdomen on the dorsal side of the body wall
- It has a central nerve cord which runs longitudinally through the thorax and the abdomen on the ventral side
- The muscles are attached to the inside of the body wall by ridge-like ingrowths of the exoskeleton called apodemes, which provide attachment points and support internal organs
- There are extensor and flexor muscles moving the legs
Insect walking
- Insects have 6 legs arranged in stable tripods
- The insect walks by alternating tripods
- The first right foot, second left food and third right foot are on the ground at the same time, creating a tripod. The other three are moving forward taking the next step
Insect wings
- First flying animals
- Not homologous to previous appendages - new evolutionary development (apomorphy)
- Most insects have two pairs of wings
- Most insects flap the wing pairs in synchrony, and the wings overlap or are hooked together by special structures (like in bees)
- Sometimes the wings move out of phase with each other (eg damsel fly)
- Wings are evaginations (outpockets) or cuticle
- Between the upper and lower layer are sclerotised veins which contain trachea, vessels for haemolymph and nerve fibres. They are not true veins
- The wing veins are arranged in a fixed pattern according to the species, which are very useful in taxonomy and used for identification of similar insects
What are apterygotes?
Primitively wingless insects which separates from other insects before the evolution of wings
What insects only have wings at certain points in their life cycle
Ants and termites, when they need to breed or start a new colony
What insects have lost their wings secondarily?
Lice and fleas
Descended from winged insects but lost theirs
Beetle wings
Have a modified forewing which provides protection of the hindwing - a sclerotised, hardened protective cover called the elytra. It covers the hindwings when the beetle isn’t flying
Dipteran flies wings
The hindwing is reduced to a small stalk called the haltere, which acts as a balance organ during flight. The forewing is used for flight