GLOSSARY

Abdomen The rearmost of the three major body areas in insects (head, thorax and abdomen). It contains the structures necessary for respiration, reproduction, digestion and excretion.

Antennae Colloquially called feelers, these are a pair of sensory organs on the heads of insects. They are used to sense touch, smell and other stimuli.

Carnivore An animal that eats animal matter.

Cerci A pair of appendages on the rear of many kinds of insect. These have a variety of forms and functions, e.g. hard, curved structures used as weapons by earwigs, or slender filaments used as sensors in stonefly nymphs.

Class The taxonomic rank between phylum and order. Insects belong to class Insecta.

Commensal An organism that derives benefits (e.g. food) from a close association with a second species that is not helped or harmed by this arrangement.

Detritus Decomposing particulate organic material.

Diapause A period of delayed development in response to unfavourable environmental conditions.

Dun A colloquial name for the subimago stage.

Femur The first long section of the insect leg. It is attached to the body by two smaller parts (coxa and trochanter) and is followed by the tibia.

Elytra Forewings that have lost their flight function and have become protective wing cases for the hindwings.

Genus A taxonomic rank between family and species. In a species combination, the genus name goes first, e.g. Hemideina is the genus name in Hemideina crassidens.

Gills Structures in aquatic insect larvae that allow the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to occur while the insect is submerged.