Abstract
Despite their remarkable diversity of form and habit, insects possess several common features by which the group as a whole can be distinguished. They are generally small arthropods whose bodies are divisible into cephalic, thoracic, and abdominal regions. The head carries one pair of antennae, one pair of mandibles, and two pairs of maxillae (the hind pair fused to form the labium). Each of the three thoracic segments bears a pair of legs and, in the adult, the meso- and/or metathoracic segments usually have a pair of wings. Abdominal appendages, when present, generally do not have a locomotory function. The genital aperture is located posteriorly on the abdomen. With few exceptions eggs are laid, and the young form may be quite different from the adult; most insects undergo some degree of metamorphosis.
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© 1980 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Gillott, C. (1980). Arthropod Evolution. In: Entomology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6918-3_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6918-3_1
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