What are the different types of mouthparts of insects?
Insect mouthparts come in different forms. The two most common forms are the chewing and piercing-sucking types (moth and butterflies have a different, unique form of mouthparts). To determine what type of mouth an insect has, get a good hand lens (10 to 15x) or a small microscope and a bright light. Look closely at the head of the insect.
What are the mouthparts of insects adapted for?
Insects have a range of mouthparts, adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Specialization has mostly been for piercing and sucking, although a range of specializations exist, as these modes of feeding have evolved a number of times (for example, mosquitoes and aphids...
How did insect mouthparts change as they evolved?
Mouthparts. As insects evolved, they became more complex, expanded in range, and adapted to new food resources. The structure and function of their mouthparts changed right along with their evolving diet and life style. This is an excellent example of adaptive radiation (an evolutionary process in which two or more populations,...
What is the function of the upper lip of an insect?
A single plate that forms the 'upper lip' of sorts. It's used to protect the other mouthparts and bring food into the mouth. A set of jaws that move laterally, meaning side-to-side. A second set of smaller, segmented claws that are used to manipulate food for the insect. A fused structure that's essentially the 'lower lip.'
What are the different kinds of mouthparts in insects?
Insect mouthpartsLabrum - a cover which may be loosely referred to as the upper lip.Mandibles - hard, powerful cutting jaws.Maxillae - 'pincers' which are less powerful than the mandibles. ... Labium - the lower cover, often referred to as the lower lip. ... Hypopharynx - a tongue-like structure in the floor of the mouth.
Do all insects have the same types of mouthparts?
Insect mouthparts come in different forms. The two most common forms are the chewing and piercing-sucking types (moth and butterflies have a different, unique form of mouthparts). To determine what type of mouth an insect has, get a good hand lens (10 to 15x) or a small microscope and a bright light.
How did insect mouthparts evolve?
It's considered that all models of mouthparts originally evolved from an ancestral mandibulate form. However, it's more than probably that this process took place in different groups simultaneously when insects started to expand in range, food became more accessible and new sources of food appeared.
What are the different kinds of mouthparts in insects state with one example each?
Types of insect mouthpartsBiting and chewing type: e.g. Cockroach & grasshopper. ... Piercing and sucking / hemipterous / bug type: e.g. Plant bugs. ... Piercing and sucking / dipterous / mosquito type : e.g. Female mosquito. ... Chewing and lapping type : e.g. honey bee. ... Rasping and sucking : e.g. Thrips.More items...•
How are insect mouthparts specialized for feeding?
Chewing mouthparts are the most general type. Piercing-sucking mouthparts have become modified for piercing the skin of animals or plants and sucking liquid food. Other common modifications enable particular insects to collect liquid food with long, coiled tubes or spongelike structures.
How are insects mouthparts specially designed for the insects diets?
Sucking insects have adapted mouth parts to suit their eating habits. In insects such as the mosquito, the labium has become a grooved beak with four sharp needles called stylets. These are used for piercing and then sucking. The mandible has become a long sucking tube called a proboscis in butterflies and moths.
How do insects mouths work?
0:472:3302 Insect Mouth - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe mandibles have a distal incisor cusp for cutting the food in a proximal molar cusp for crushingMoreThe mandibles have a distal incisor cusp for cutting the food in a proximal molar cusp for crushing the food by chewing paired max silly are located below the mandibles.
How are the mouth parts of cockroach adapted to its mode of feeding?
Cockroaches salivate food outside the mouth cavity before cutting it with the mandibles. The maxillae transport food into the cibarium where the hypopharynx is involved in transporting it between the grinding mandibular molae. The crushed food is sucked into the pharynx via dilation.
How many jaws does an insect have?
Insect mandibles are a pair of appendages near the insect's mouth, and the most anterior of the three pairs of oral appendages (the labrum is more anterior, but is a single fused structure). Their function is typically to grasp, crush, or cut the insect's food, or to defend against predators or rivals.
How are the mouth parts of the butterfly different from a grasshopper?
Butterflies have a strong mandible for chewing, instead of a proboscis for sipping. There are no differences between the mouth parts of butterflies and grasshoppers.
How many insect mouthparts are there?
Insects are characterized by a basic set of five mouthparts. These include the: labrum, or upper lip; mandibles, or jaws; maxillae, or sensory and grasping organs; labium, or lower lip; and hypopharynx, part of the mouth that mixes food with digestive enzymes.
Do all insects have mandibles?
Butterflies and moths All but a few adult Lepidoptera lack mandibles, with the remaining mouthparts forming an elongated sucking tube. The exception is the mandibulate moths (family Micropterigidae), which have fully developed mandibles as adults.
How many mouthparts does a cockroach have?
The mouthpieces of the cockroach are sort of biting and chewing. which are utilized in dietary intake and searches. The labrum, mandibles, labium or second pair of maxillae, hypopharynx and first pair of maxillae are all parts of the mouth.
How many mouthparts does a mosquito have?
The mosquito's mouth, also called a proboscis, isn't just one tiny spear. It's a sophisticated system of six thin, needlelike mouthparts that scientists call stylets, each of which pierces the skin, finds blood vessels and makes it easy for mosquitoes to suck blood. And these bugs know just where to bite.
What plane of the mouth do insects use?
This they do mainly in opening and closing their jaws in feeding, but also in using the mandibles as tools, or possibly in fighting; note however, that this refers to the coronal plane of the mouth, not necessarily of the insect's body, because insects' heads differ greatly in their orientation.
What are some examples of chewing insects?
5 Hypopharynx. Examples of chewing insects include dragonflies, grasshoppers and beetles. Some insects do not have chewing mouthparts as adults but do chew solid food when they feed while they still are larvae. The moths and butterflies are major examples of such adaptations.
What is the defining feature of the order Hemiptera?
The defining feature of the order Hemiptera is the 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, such as shield bugs, feed on the fluids of plants.
What is the main feeding tube of a mosquito?
In female mosquitoes, all mouthparts are elongated. 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.
What is the function of the labium in a dragonfly?
Typically, together with the maxillae, the labium assists manipulation of food during mastication. Dragonfly nymph feeding on fish that it has caught with its labium and snatched back to the other mouthparts for eating. The labium is just visible from the side, between the front pairs of legs.
What muscles move the mandibles?
Two sets of muscles move the mandibles in the coronal plane: abductor muscles move insects' mandibles apart ( laterally ); adductor muscles bring them together ( medially ).
What is the name of the part of the mouth that chews on the head?
Mandible. A chewing insect has a pair of mandibles, one on each side of the head. The mandibles are caudal to the labrum and anterior to the maxillae. Typically the mandibles are the largest and most robust mouthparts of a chewing insect, and it uses them to masticate (cut, tear, crush, chew) food items.
What insects have mandibulate mouthparts?
Immature stages of many holometabolous insects (like beetle larvae and lepidopteran caterpillars also have mandibulate mouthparts. Show Mouthparts Assembled.
What are the parts of the mouth that help contain food?
These are known as “ mandibulate ” mouthparts because they feature prominent chewing mandibles. There are five basic components that form these mouthparts: Labrum — a simple plate-like sclerite that serves as a front lip to help contain the food. Mandibles — a pair of jaws for crushing or grinding the food.
How did modified mandibulate mouthparts evolve?
Modified Mandibulate Mouthparts. As insects evolved to feed on a wider variety of food resources, their mouthparts adapted accordingly through natural selection. In some cases, an individual component of the mouthparts became specialized for a new function.
Why are the mandibulate mouthparts reduced in size?
The mandibulate mouthparts are reduced in size allowing the insect to excavate a deep narrow hole that is used for feeding, and perhaps later, as a site for oviposition. In dragonfly naiads (immatures), the labium has become adapted as a prehensile tool that can be rapidly extended forward to catch prey.
Which lobe of the labium is covered with a dense brush of sensory hairs?
Maxillae have finger-like laciniae and spatulate galeae that are covered with a dense brush of sensory hairs. The hypopharynx is a simple, fleshy lobe. The labium’s large paraglossae and smaller paraglossae cover and protect the underside of the mouthparts.
Which lobes of the labium are derived from the insect's labial palps?
One hinge at the base of the postmentum and another hinge at the base of the prementum allow the labium to stretch forward so a pair of apical lobes can grab the prey. These apical lobes are thought to be derived from the insect’s labial palps. Honey Bees. Honey bees collect nectar and pollen from flowers.
What is a mandible?
Mandibles — a pair of jaws for crushing or grinding the food. They operate from side to side, not up and down.
What are the most primitive mouth parts?
These consist of the labrum forming upper lip, mandibles, first maxillae, second maxillae form ing lower lip, hypo pharynx and the epipharynx. ADVERTISEMENTS:
What are the parts of the mouth that collect nectar?
They consist of the labrum, epipharynx, mandibles, first pair of maxillae and second pair of maxillae.
What is the mandible used for?
Mandibles are short, smooth and spatulated, situated one on either side of the labrum; used in moulding wax and making the honeycomb. The labium (second pair of maxillae) has reduced paraglossae, the glossae are united and elongated to form the so called retractile tongue, at its tip is a small labellum or honey spoon.
How do mandibles work?
The mandibles are paired and bear toothed edges at their inner surfaces; they work transversely by two sets of muscles to masticate the food. The first maxillae are paired and lie one on either side of the head capsule behind the mandibles. Each possesses a five-jointed maxillary palp which is a tactile organ.
What organ is used for gathering honey?
The labial palps are elongated. The glossa is used for gathering honey and it is an organ of touch and taste. The first pair of maxillae are placed at the sides of labium, they bear small maxillary palps, lacinia is very much reduced but galea are elongated and blade-like.
Where are the mandibles and maxillae located?
Of the four stylets, mandibles are placed externally in the labial groove, while both the maxillae are placed internally in the labial groove. The maxillae are grooved and placed in such a way that they form an upper food channel and lower salivary canal. The epipharynx and hypo pharynx are absent.
Which is finer, the mandible or the maxilla?
The mandibles are finer than the maxillae, but both have saw-like edges on their tips. The hypo pharynx possesses salivary duct which opens at its tip. (ii) Piercing and sucking mouth parts of bugs: In bedbug, the labium constitutes a three- jointed proboscis.
How to tell if an insect has a mouthpart?
To determine what type of mouth an insect has, get a good hand lens (10 to 15x) or a small microscope and a bright light. Look closely at the head of the insect. Two pairs of scissors-like jaws with a flap-like structure (labium) in front and one underneath (labium) indicates chewing mouthparts. If you don’t see these structures, flip the insect over and look from underneath. If you can’t see jaws, but see a keel, or ridge, running from the top to the bottom of the head (sometimes extending between the legs), the insect probably has piercing-sucking mouthparts.
What insects have chewing mouthparts?
Major insect groups that have chewing mouthparts include the cockroaches and grasshoppers, most wasps, beetles, termites and caterpillars. Insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts include some flies (think mosquitoes), fleas, true bugs and their relatives.
Why is it important to know the type of mouthparts?
Knowing the type of mouthparts is important to entomologists because mouth design provides a clue to the ancestry or taxonomy of the insect. We use mouthparts as a clue, for example, to know which basic insect group (Order) an insect belongs to.
What does it mean when an insect has two pairs of scissors-like jaws?
Two pairs of scissors-like jaws with a flap-like structure (labium) in front and one underneath (labium) indicates chewing mouthparts. If you don’t see these structures, flip the insect over and look from underneath. If you can’t see jaws, but see a keel, or ridge, running from the top to the bottom of the head ...
How do mosquito jaws work?
The first and second pairs of jaws of a mosquito, for example, are greatly elongated and fit together in such a way that they create channels for saliva to pass down from, and blood to pass up into, the mosquito’s mouth.
Can an insect bite a tomato plant?
If an insect is feeding on a plant, different mouthparts are going to cause different damage symptoms. For example, if you catch an insect on your chewed-up tomato plant, and it has piercing-sucking mouthparts, you can eliminate that insect as a culprit. Interestingly, scientists who study the structures of insect mouthparts long ago determined ...
Do mosquitoes have the same jaws?
Interestingly, scientists who study the structures of insect mouthparts long ago determined that the same parts are present in both sets of mouthparts. The scissors-like jaw parts in the beetle are present, though greatly modified, in the mouth of a mosquito. The first and second pairs of jaws of a mosquito, for example, are greatly elongated and fit together in such a way that they create channels for saliva to pass down from, and blood to pass up into, the mosquito’s mouth.
How many mouth types are there in insects?
By the time this activity is over, you will know the four general mouth types found in insects and how they are used to get nutrients.
What are the four mouth types found in insects?
Great job! So now you've learned the four basic mouth types found in insects: Piercing-sucking, Sponging, Siphoning, and Chewing. What did you think was the easiest way to get nutrients? The hardest? What are some other ways that insects might get their food?
How many insects are there in the world?
Did you know that some scientists estimate there are between 15 and 30 million different species of insects in the world? That amount makes up almost 75% of the total animal population! In other words if you could group every animal on Earth together and pick out 100 of them with your eyes closed, about 75 would be insects! Pretty amazing, isn't it?
How to eat like a butterfly?
To eat like a butterfly, you'll need your straw. Butterflies and moths have long tube-like mouth parts that let them reach way into a flower to drink the nectar . . . kind of like a straw! This is called a siphoning mouth type. So now it's your turn. Use your straw to eat like a butterfly and take a big sip!
Overview
Insects have a range of mouthparts, adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. A variety of specializations exist. Most Specialization has been for piercing and sucking, as these modes of feeding have evolved a number of times (for example, mosquitoes and aphids (which are true bugs) both pierce and suck, however female mosquitoes feed on animal b…
Evolution
Like most external features of arthropods, the mouthparts of hexapoda are highly derived. Insect mouthparts show a multitude of different functional mechanisms across the wide diversity of species considered insects. Certainly it is common for significant homology to be conserved, with matching structures formed from matching primordia, and having the same evolutionary origin. On the other hand, even structures that physically are almost identical, and share almost identical f…
Chewing insects
Examples of chewing insects include dragonflies, grasshoppers and beetles. Some insects do not have chewing mouthparts as adults but do chew solid food when they feed while they still are larvae. The moths and butterflies are major examples of such adaptations.
A chewing insect has a pair of mandibles, one on each side of the head. The m…
Siphoning insects
This section deals only with insects that feed by sucking fluids, as a rule without piercing their food first, and without sponging or licking. Typical examples are adult moths and butterflies. As is usually the case with insects, there are variations: some moths, such as species of Serrodes and Achaea do pierce fruit to the extent that they are regarded as serious orchard pests. Some moths do …
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 leafhoppers, while others are carnivorous, like assassin bugs and mosquitoes (females only).
The defining feature of the order Hemiptera is the possession of mouthparts w…
Sponging insects
The housefly is a typical sponging insect. The labellum's surface is covered by minute food channels, formed by the interlocking elongate hypopharynx and epipharynx, forming a proboscis used to channel liquid food to the oesophagus. The food channel draws liquid and liquified food to the oesophagus by capillary action. The housefly is able to eat solid food by secreting saliva and dabbing i…
External links
• Form & Function: the Insect Head
• Labelled photos