\[ **BT: [[arthropods]]** ] --- # insects Six-legged invertebrates of the Insecta class. Insects have six legs (no more, no less); a three-part body (head, thorax, abdomen); and up to two pairs of wings.[^1] ## classification of insects | INSECTA | Family/etc | Genus | Species | | ------------------------ | --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Anoplura | | | | | Blattodea | | | | | Coleoptera | | | | | Dermaptera | | | | | [[#Diptera (Order)]] | [[#Coelopidae (Family)]] | *[[#Coelopa (Genus)\|Coelopa]]* | *[[#Coelopa frigida]]* | | Embiidina | | | | | Emphemeroptera | | | | | Hemiptera | | | | | | | | | | [[#Hymenoptera (Order)]] | [[#Anthrophilia (Clade)]] | *[[#Apis (Genus)\|Apis]]* | *[[arthropods#Apis mellifera (honey bee)\|Apis mellifera]]* | | | [[#Formicidae (Family)]] | | | | | [[#Ichenumonidae (Family)]] | *[[#Hyposoter (Genus)\|Hyposter]]* | *[[#Hyposoter horticola\|Hyposter horticola]]* | | | | | | | [[#Lepidoptera (Order)]] | [[#Noctuidae (Family)]] | *[[#Agrotis (Genus)\|Agrotis]]* | | | | | | | | Mallophaga | | | | | Mantodea | | | | | Mecoptera | | | | | Microcoryphia | | | | | Neuroptera | | | | | Notoptera | | | | | Odonata | | | | | | | | | | [[#Orthoptera (Order)]] | [[#Gryllidae (Family)]] | *[[#Teleogryllus (Genus)\|Teleogryllus]]* | *[[#Teleogryllus oceanicus (Australian field cricket)\|Teleogryllus oceanicus]]* | | | | | | | Phasmotodea | | | | | Plecoptera | | | | | Siphonaptera | | | | | Strepsiptera | | | | | Thysanoptera | | | | | Trichoptera | | | | | Zoraptera | | | | | Zygentoma | | | | [^2] --- ### Diptera (Order) #### Coelopidae (Family) ##### *Coelopa* (Genus) ###### *Coelopa frigida* *C. frigida* is a species of seaweed or kelp fly.[^3] [[All populations of the seaweed fly Coelopa frigida are polymorphic for a large inversion that has suppressed recombination, resulting in substantial differentiation between two haplotypes with different benefits.]][^4] [[Coelopa frigidia polymorphism ‘mediates a life-history trade-off in that one haplotype favors faster larval development and the other reproductive output’.]][^5] - see also: [[genetics#polymorphism|polymorphism]] ### Hymenoptera (Order) A large order of insects, including wasps, [[#Bees|bees]], and [[insects#Ants|ants]].[^6] Many hymenopterans are [[parasites and parasitoids|parasitic]].[^7] #### chemical communication among social insects [[Social insects like bees, ants, wasps, and termites can distinguish between colonies thanks to the different chemical profiles. This also enables them to distinguish between nestmates and non-nestmates.]][^8] [[The workers of social insects do not reproduce in the presence of queen pheromones. Queen pheromones are highly variable between colonies, and are a constant peak overlaid across every colony's complex background chemicals.]][^9] #### Anthrophilia (Clade) ##### Bees [[Some orchids (Ophrys apifera) mimic the appearance of sexually-receptive female bees.]][^10] - RT: [[plants#Ophrys apifera (bee orchid)|bee orchid]] ##### *Apis* (Genus) ###### *Apis mellifera* (honey bee) [[Honey bee alarm pheromones prompt immediate ‘releaser’ effects AND longer lasting ‘primer’ effects.]][^11] - BT: [[life#pheromones|pheromones]] #### Formicidae (Family) ##### Ants [[A 'zombie' fungus enters ants in spore stage; it there grows and takes control of the ant's mind and body in the fungus's favour.]][^12] #### Ichenumonidae (Family) ##### *Hyposoter* (Genus) ###### *Hyposoter horticola* *H. horticola* is a [[parasites and parasitoids|parasitoid]].[^13] [[Hyposoter horticola locates butterfly eggs; when the young caterpillar is about to emerge, she lays her own eggs inside the developing larva. Shortly before the caterpillar would spin its cocoon, the wasp larvae rapidly consume the host's body.]][^14] --- ### Lepidoptera (Order) #### Noctuidae (Family) ##### *Agrotis* (Genus) Agrotis is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. The genus was erected by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. A number of the species of this genus are extinct.[^15] [[Male agrotis moths remain unresponsive to female sex pheromones for up to 24 hours following mating.]][^16] --- ### Orthoptera (Order) #### Gryllidae (Family) ##### *Teleogryllus* (Genus) ###### *Teleogryllus oceanicus* (Australian field cricket) [[Male crickets frequently court each other; this includes the courtship song, courtship posturing, and mounting one another.]][^17] --- ## insect–human relationships [[In Buddhism, insects exist within a kind of purgatory; it is difficult to obtain karma when you're a bug.]][^18] - see also: [[religion#Buddhism|Buddhism]] --- ## insect–plant relationships [[Predators and parasitoids help keep plant-eating insects in check.]][^19] [[Some orchids (Ophrys apifera) mimic the appearance of sexually-receptive female bees.]][^20] - see also: [[plants]] --- ## ↬ external resources - [Global Biodiversity Information Facility](https://www.gbif.org/) - [Atlas of Living Australia](https://www.ala.org.au/) - [Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC)](https://www.ala.org.au/who-we-are-3/atlas-background/atlas-partners/ala-community/australian-national-insect-collection-anic/) - [Overview of Orders of Insects](https://bugguide.net/node/view/222292) (visual guide) [^1]: ‘Insect’, Wikipedia, last edited 8 January 2026, 08:54 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect>. [^2]: ‘Overview of Orders of Insects’, BugGuide, accessed 11 January 2026, <https://bugguide.net/node/view/222292>. [^3]: ‘*Coelopa frigida*’, Wikipedia, last edited 13 March 2026, 10:15 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelopa_frigida>. [^4]: Donna L. Maney et al., ‘[[Maney et al. ‘Inside the Supergene of the Bird with Four Sexes’, 2020|Inside the Supergene of the Bird with Four Sexes]]’, *Hormones and Behavior*, vol. 126 (September 2020), p. 14, <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104850>. [^5]: Donna L. Maney et al., ‘[[Maney et al. ‘Inside the Supergene of the Bird with Four Sexes’, 2020|Inside the Supergene of the Bird with Four Sexes]]’, *Hormones and Behavior*, vol. 126 (September 2020), p. 14, <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104850>. [^6]: ‘Hymenoptera’, Wikipedia, last edited 16 March 2025, 10:53 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenoptera>. [^7]: ‘Hymenoptera’, Wikipedia, last edited 16 March 2025, 10:53 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenoptera>. [^8]: Tristram D. Wyatt, ‘[[Wyatt, ‘Pheromones’, 2017|Pheromones]]’, *Current Biology*, vol. 27, no. 15 (2017), R740, <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039>. [^9]: Tristram D. Wyatt, ‘[[Wyatt, ‘Pheromones’, 2017|Pheromones]]’, *Current Biology*, vol. 27, no. 15 (2017), R740. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039>. [^10]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 28. [^11]: Tristram D. Wyatt, ‘[[Wyatt, ‘Pheromones’, 2017|Pheromones]]’, *Current Biology*, vol. 27, no. 15 (2017), R740. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039). [^12]: Allanah Mott, ‘[[Mott, ‘A Miniature Zombie Apocalypse’, 2021|A Miniature Zombie Apocalypse: How One Fungus Controls the Minds and Bodies of Ants to Send Them to Their Demise]]’, *Scientific Scribbles* (University of Melbourne), last updated 17 September 2021, <https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2021/09/17/a-miniature-zombie-apocalypse-how-one-fungus-controls-the-minds-and-bodies-of-ants-to-send-them-to-their-demise/>. [^13]: ‘*Hyposoter horticola* (Gravenhorst, 1829’, GBIF Secretariat (2023), accessed 14 January 2026, <https://www.gbif.org/species/1291689>. [^14]: Allanah Mott, ‘[[Mott, ‘A Miniature Zombie Apocalypse’, 2021|A Miniature Zombie Apocalypse: How One Fungus Controls the Minds and Bodies of Ants to Send Them to Their Demise]]’, *Scientific Scribbles* (University of Melbourne), last updated 17 September 2021, <https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2021/09/17/a-miniature-zombie-apocalypse-how-one-fungus-controls-the-minds-and-bodies-of-ants-to-send-them-to-their-demise/>. [^15]: ‘*Agrotis*’, Wikipedia, last edited 26 September 2025, 03:01 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrotis>. [^16]: Tristram D. Wyatt, ‘[[Wyatt, ‘Pheromones’, 2017|Pheromones]]’, *Current Biology*, vol. 27, no. 15 (2017), R740. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039>. [^17]: Julia D. Monk et al., ‘[[Monk et al, ‘An Alternative Hypothesis for the Evolution of Same-Sex Sexual Behaviour in Animals’, 2019|An Alternative Hypothesis for the Evolution of Same-Sex Sexual Behaviour in Animals]]’, *Nature Ecology & Evolution*, vol. 3, no. 2 (2019), p. 1625, <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1019-7>. [^18]: garbuge \[pseud.], ‘oh another fun buddhism thing, bugs are in a kind of purgatory …’, *on the hills where elfs roam free* (Tumblr blog), 10 February 2025, 1:35 AM, <https://www.tumblr.com/garbuge/775014549710569472/oh-another-fun-buddhism-thing-bugs-are-in-a-kind>. [^19]: ‘[[Australian Museum, ‘Predators, Parasites and Parasitoids’, 2022|Predators, Parasites and Parasitoids]]’, *Australian Museum*, updated 6 April 2022, <https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/predators-parasites-and-parasitoids/>. [^20]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 28; ‘*Ophrys apifera*’, Wikipedia, last edited 2 January 2026, 23:04 (UTC), <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophrys_apifera>.