The head is the anterior of the three body regions of an adult insect. It bears the eyes (usually a pair of compound eyes), the antennae and the mouthparts.
The most visible parts of the body of an adult insect are: the head, the antennae, the mouthparts, the thorax, the wings, the legs, and the abdomen.
The head is the anterior of the three body regions of an adult
insect. It bears the eyes (usually a pair of compound eyes), the
antennae and the mouthparts.
The mouthparts of adult insects can be of different types. In
many species they are of the chewing type, for example in grasshoppers
and beetles. Others have sucking mouthparts for example shaped
like stylets in bugs and aphids or shaped like a coiled tongue
in butterflies and moths. The different types of mouthparts determine
how the insect feeds.
The head of most adult insects bears a pair of antennae. Insects
use the antennae to detect odours or they use them as tactile
(touch) organs. Antennae are very variable in form and size.
The thorax is the middle of the three body regions of an adult
insect. It is composed of 3 segments. It bears 3 pairs of legs
(one on each segment) and usually 2 pairs of wings. Some insects
have only 1 pair of wings.
Adult insects have 6 legs. Each of the segments of the thorax
bears 1 pair of legs. The legs are segmented. Often the last segment
of the leg bears a small claw. In some insects, the legs are specially
adapted for jumping.
Most adult insects have 2 pairs of wings, but some (for example
flies) have only 1 pair of wings. Usually the wings are membranous
but in some insects they can be leathery or hard. Sometimes the
wings bear hairs or small scales.
The abdomen is the posterior of the three body regions of an adult
insect. It is composed of 11 segments. The abdomen bears the external
genitalia of the insect. In female insects these consist of an
ovipositor.