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Insect mouthparts
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Insects (Class Insecta) exhibit a range of mouthparts, adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Specialisation has mostly been for piercing and sucking, although a range of specialisations exist, as these modes of feeding have evolved a number of times (for example, mosquitoes (which are flies) and aphids (which are bugs) both pierce and suck), however female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids.
In this page, the individual mouthparts are introduced for chewing insects.
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Insects (Class Insecta) exhibit a range of mouthparts, adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Specialisation has mostly been for piercing and sucking, although a range of specialisations exist, as these modes of feeding have evolved a number of times (for example, mosquitoes (which are flies) and aphids (which are bugs) both pierce and suck), however female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids.
In this page, the individual mouthparts are introduced for chewing insects. Specialisations are generally described thereafter.
Chewing Insects
Examples of chewing insects include dragonflies, grasshoppers and beetles. Some insects that do not have chewing mouthparts as adults do as larvae, such as moths and butterflies.
Labrum
The labrum is a small sclerite articulating with the lower margin of the insect's "face" (the clypeus), concealing some or most of the mandibles. It serves to hold food in place during chewing by the mandibles and thus can simply be described as an upper lip. Embryonically, it is formed by the fusion of appendage remnants on either side of the head, thus is a single structure with a paired developmental origin, similar to the labium (below).
Mandible
Chewing insects have two mandibles, one on each side of the head. The mandibles are positioned between the labrum and maxillae. They are typically the largest mouthparts of chewing insects, being used to masticate (cut, tear, crush, chew) food items. They open outwards (to the sides of the head) and come together medially. In carnivorous chewing insects, the mandibles can be modified to be more knife-like, where-as in herbivorous chewing insects, they are more typically broad and flat on their opposing faces (eg, caterpillars). In male stag beetles, the mandibles are modified to such an extent that they do not serve any feeding function, but are instead used to defend mating sites from other males. In ants, the mandibles also serve a defensive function (particularly in soldier castes). In bull ants, the mandibles are elongate and toothed, used as hunting (and defensive) appendages.
Maxilla
Situated beneath the mandibles, paired maxillae manipulate food during mastication. Maxillae can have hairs and “teeth” along their inner margins. At the outer margin, the galea is a cupped or scoop-like structure, which sits over the outer edge of the labium. They also have palps, which are used to sense the characteristics of potential foods.
Labium
The labium is a single structure, although it is formed from two fused secondary maxillae. It can be described as the floor of the mouth. With the maxillae, it assists manipulation of food during mastication.
Hypopharynx
The hypopharynx is a somewhat globular structure, arising from the base of the labium. It assists swallowing.
Siphoning Insects
This section deals only with sucking insects, not those that pierce prior to sucking. The typical example is the moths and butterflies, although as is always the case with insects, there are variations. Some moths have no mouthparts at all. All but a few adult Lepidoptera lack mandibles (the mandibulate moths have fully developed mandibles as adults), with the remaining mouthparts forming an elongated sucking tube, the proboscis.
Proboscis
One of the more defining characteristics of lepidopterans is their coiled proboscis. It is held coiled under the head when not in use. During feeding, however, it is extended to reach the nectar of flowers. The proboscis is a long tube that is formed by heavily modified maxillae, specifically the galea.
Other Mouthparts
The other mouthparts are much reduced (vestigial) or absent.
Piercing and Sucking Insects
A number of insect orders (or more precisely families within them) have mouthparts that pierce food items to enable sucking of internal fluids. Some are herbivorous, like aphids and leaf hoppers, while others are insectivorous, like assassin bugs and mosquitoes (females only).
Proboscis
The defining feature of hemipterans is their possession of mouthparts where the mandibles and maxillae are modified into a proboscis, sheathed within a modified labium, which is capable of piercing tissues and sucking out the liquids. For example, true bugs (order Hemiptera) that feed on plants, such as shield bugs, feed on the fluids of plants. Predacious bugs such as assassin bugs have the same mouthparts, but they are used to pierce the cuticles of captured prey.
Stylet
In female mosquitoes, all mouthparts are elongate. The labium encloses all other mouthparts like a sheath. The labrum forms the main feeding tube, through which blood is sucked. Paired mandibles and maxillae are present, together forming the stylet, which is used to pierce an animal's skin. During piercing, the labium remains outside the food item's skin, folding away from the stylet. Saliva, which contains anticoagulants, is injected into the food item and blood sucked out, each through different tubes.
Sponging Insects
Labellum
The housefly is the typical sponging insect. The labium gives the description, being articulate and possessing at its end a spongelike labellum. Paired mandibles and maxillae are present, but much reduced. The labium is used to channel liquid food to oesophagus. The housefly is able to eat solid food by secreting saliva and dabbing it over the food item. As the saliva dissolves the food, the labellum acts in the usual way.
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