Insect morphology

Insect morphology describes the form and organization of insects’ external and internal structures, including their segmented bodies, appendages, and specialized organs.

Tagmosis: The evolutionary grouping of body segments into specialized functional regions. Insect segments are grouped into head, thorax, and abdomen.
Insect cuticle: The layered extracellular covering that forms an insect’s exoskeleton. Its layers produce the body’s protective, flexible, and hardened regions.
Insect taxonomy: The science of naming, describing, and classifying insects. Structural characters help distinguish and delimit insect groups.
Myriapod morphology: The body organization and anatomical structures of centipedes and millipedes. Myriapods contrast with insects in their many trunk segments and legs.
Sclerite: A hardened plate of an arthropod’s exoskeleton. Sclerites form the plates that make up much of the insect body wall.
Ecdysis: The shedding of an arthropod’s old cuticle during growth or development. A rigid exoskeleton must be shed for an insect to increase in size.
Insect identification: The process of determining an insect’s identity using observable characters and other evidence. Body structures provide many of the characters used in identification keys.
Arachnid morphology: The body organization and anatomical structures of spiders, scorpions, mites, and other arachnids. Arachnids lack insect antennae and typically organize the body into two main regions.
Arthropod exoskeleton: The external cuticle that supports and protects arthropods and provides attachment for muscles. The insect body plan is built around this external supporting structure.
Arthropod joint: A movable connection between hardened parts of an arthropod’s exoskeleton. Joints let appendages bend despite the rigid cuticle.

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