Lab handout for External anatomy of the Atelocerata - Salinella

Insect External Anatomy 

Insect External Anatomy © Houseman – page 1 

by Jon G. Houseman 

In this lab we continue or observations of the external anatomy we started previously. 

This time we look at insects and use the grasshopper and cockroach to complete the 

comparative grid started in the last lab where we examined panarthopods and other 

insect relatives. We’ll finish up our investigations of external anatomy with a 

comprehensive look at insect mouthparts and some different types of insect legs. An 

autapomorphy of the kingdom Animalia is being heterotrophs and a symplesiomorphy 

that Insects share with their sister groups is that they manipulate their food with their 

appendages. Insect cuticle can be molded into any one of a variety of structures and 

this applies to the appendages used for feeding. Is it a surprise that insects have shaped 

their feeding appendages into the variety of structures you will be looking at later? 

And, the more different ways you can successfully feed on unique foods is certainly a 

formula for diversification. The same diversification applies to the different types of 

insect legs. 

Grasshopper: Romalea guttata 

Orthoptera, the insect order that includes the grasshopper, provides excellent 

specimens for studying many ancestral features of insects, such as mouthparts and the 

architecture of the tagmata that form the body. The Lubber grasshopper, Romalea 

guttata, is a large species and therefore an ideal hopper for lab observations. Unlike 

most hoppers, however, this species cannot fly because it has small wings; so it 

disperses by hopping. It’s found in the southeastern United States. 

External anatomy 

The basic arthropod body plan is metameric, with the ancestral segments, metameres, 

fused to form larger tagmata. Identify the three major insect tagmata in your 

specimen: head, thorax, and abdomen (Figure 1). What are the functions 

associated with each of the different insect tagmata? 

Figure 1 Major anatomical features of an insect. 

The arthropods, including insects, are covered with an exoskeleton (cuticle) produced 

by an underlying epidermis. In the most primitive arthropods, either two or three

cuticular plates, the sclerites, surround each segment. A sclerite on the dorsal surface 

is called a tergite, the plate on the ventral surface is called a sternite, and the cuticular 

plates on the sides are called pleurites. In the abdomen, there are only two sclerites, 

the tergite and sternite with and pleural membranes, instead of solid pleurites, 

connecting the two. Membranes between the plates allowed adjacent sclerites to move 

relative to each other. For example, the pleural membrane allows the abdomen to 

expand during feeding, or during egg production in the female. As metameres became 

fused into tagma, the articulation between the various sclerites often disappeared, and 

what remains of the junction between the two sclerites is a groove or indentation on 

the surface of the cuticle and is referred to as a suture. Often, a suture is more than a 

line on the surface of the cuticle, and internally the cuticle folds to create an internal 

ridge. What is the advantage of these areas of infolded cuticle for muscle 

attachment? Not all sutures reflect ancestral segmentation of the tagma, and other 

indentations of cuticle, apodemes for example, also provide internal sites for muscle 

attachment. 

Head 

The insect head is a fusion of six segments, three of which are preoral (pregnathal), 

and three are postoral (postgnathal). The appendages on the preoral segments include 

the labrum and antennae; there are no appendages on the third head segment. In the 

closely related subphylum of mandibulate crustaceans, this third head segment had the 

second pair of antennae. In Atelocerata the second pair of antennae have been lost and 

this is the origin of the subphylum's taxonomic name. The postoral appendages from 

front to back are as follows: mandible, maxillae , and fused labium. The labrum and 

labium form the top and bottom of the preoral cavity respectively; the mandibles and 

maxilla form the sides. 

Figure 2 Lateral view of the grasshopper head. 

The head capsule (Figure 2 and Figure 3) is almost a solid piece of hardened cuticle, 

and most of the sutures and lines visible on its surface are the apodemes of internal 

cuticular ridges that prevent the head capsule from collapsing under the force of the 

mouthpart musculature. Only the posterior sutures near the neck reflect the original 

segmentation of the head. You will look at these posterior sutures in a moment; for 

now begin with the front of the head. Before you start your observation of the external 

anatomy, be sure that the surface of the specimen is dry; many of the smaller details 

Insect External Anatomy © Houseman – page 2

will be hard to see if the specimen is wet. If necessary, place the specimen on a piece 

of paper towel and wait for it to dry off. 

A pair of compound eyes is located on the sides and near the top of the head (Figure 

2). Take a close look under the dissecting microscope, and you will see the complex 

pattern of ommatidia, the fundamental repeating optic units of the arthropod eye. The 

part of the ommatidia you see is the cornea (lens). In addition to the pair of compound 

eyes, there are three simple eyes called the ocelli. A pair of these is situated between 

the base of the antennae, and the compound eyes. A third medial ocellus is located on 

the anterior surface of the head, below the groove that runs between the antennae and 

the compound eyes. Cross sections through an insect head are available that show the 

compound and simple eyes. Be sure to look at these specimens and compare them to 

the figures in you lecture notes. The number and position of the ocelli varies in 

Figure 3 Anterior view of the grasshopper head 

different insects, but this arrangement of three is the ancestral pattern for the ocelli. 

Can ocelli form an image; what is their function? 

A single pair of antennae is characteristic of the Atelocerata, and each antenna is 

composed of three basic parts: the scape, which is most proximal, the pedicel, and the 

flagellum, which is most distal. The flagellum is a single segment, but there is a series 

of annulations that give it a segmented appearance; the annulations help it bend. How 

does the arrangement of the internal musculature differ between annulations and 

a segment in the antennae? Examine the antennae closely using the dissecting 

microscope to see the sensory setal hairs that cover its surface. Although some setal 

hairs are mechanoreceptive, they primarily have a chemosensory role. During flight, 

the antennae bend and move, providing important sensory information on wind speed, 

direction, and resistance. This twisting and bending of the flagellum generates forces 

in the cuticle of the pedicel, and these pressures are detected by a special 

mechanoreceptive structure known as Johnston’s organ. All flying insects have a 

Johnston’s organ that provides information that enables the insect to adjust its flight to 

compensate for wind currents. 

The other appendages on the head are mouthparts. The fleshy lip is the labrum, which 

is attached to the head by the clypeus. Look at the side of the head to see the powerful 

and hardened mandibles (Figure 2).Behind the mandibles, there are the maxillae with 

their sensory maxillary palps. The last set of appendages on the head is the fused 


appendages of the labium, which also have sensory labial palps. You will take a 

closer look at prepared slides of the hopper mouthparts later in the lab when we 

compare the ancestral pattern with mouthparts that are specialized for different types 

of food. 

The head capsule is divided into a number of regions, or plates, by sutures and lines. 

The top of the head is the vertex (Figure 3). From the vertex a set of lines appears as 

an inverted Y; this is the epicranial suture and when the hopper molts, these lines 

break open, and the insect emerges from the old cuticle. The cuticle on the sides of the 

head and behind the epicranial suture is the gena, and the part of the cuticle between 

the branched base of the epicranial sutures is the frons. Behind the gena there are two 

more saddle-like plates that cover the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the head: the 

occiput and postocciput, separated from each other by the postoccipital suture (Figure 

3). The postoccipital suture is the only suture on the head that identifies the original 

segments of the head, the fusion of the fifth and sixth segments. The posterior opening 

to the head is the foramen. 

Two connected sutures run horizontally across the head, above to the attachment of 

the mouthparts. Inside the head and beneath the two sutures is a ridge of cuticle that 

encircles the head. The mouthparts articulate with the head in this region, and this 

ridge of cuticle reinforces the head against the forces generated by the musculature of 

the mouthparts. The small pits at the lateral edges of the suture are the apodemes that 

form the endoskeletal tentorium of the head. The other apodemes of the tentorium are 

located at the base of the postoccipital suture. The tentorium creates internal “flying 

buttresses” from the back and the front to the top of the head, ensuring that the 

cranium doesn’t collapse under the forces created by the mouthparts. Cleared 

specimens of the hopper head are available. Please handle them carefully and look 

inside the head through the foramen to see components of the tentorium. 

Figure 4 Major sclerites and sutures of the prothoracic segment of an insect 

Thorax 

Insects have two pairs of wings, and in the grasshoppers the two wings have a 

different appearance. The forewings, attached to the mesothorax, are leathery and 


protect the hindwings underneath. This is often the case among the insects, and beetles 

perfect this strategy by having hardened forewings called elytra that are not used for 

flying, but as protective wing covers. You can see the difference between the wings by 

unfolding the hindwing and comparing it to the forewing. The wings are supported by 

a series of veins, but don’t let the term vein confuse you; in insects the word has 

nothing to do with the circulatory system of an insect. The veins are ridges of cuticle 

that strengthen the wing. In the Lubber grasshopper, both sets of wings are small and 

not large enough for flight. 

The thorax is composed of three segments: the prothorax, mesothorax, and 

metathorax. The thoracic segments can be divided into three major sclerites that have 

their own special names: the dorsal notum (tergite), lateral pleurites, and the sternum 

(sternite). Each of these thoracic segments bears a pair of appendages and wings 

located on the mesothoracic and metathoracic segments, which together form the 

pterothorax. 

Figure 5 Major sclerites and sutures of the insect metathorax. 

The wingless prothorax is formed from the fusion of the four sclerites : a notum, 

sternum and two lateral pleurites . The dorsal notum, the pronotum, is enlarged and 

saddle-like, and extends down the sides of the segment. Ancestrally, each of the 

thoracic and abdominal segments had spiracles. Locate the spiracle on the prothorax. 

Articulation of the prothoracic leg with the thorax follows the same pattern as the 

pterothorax (Figure 4). On each segment of the pterothorax, lateral pleurites are fused 

with the ventral sternites, forming a three-sided thoracic box. The notum is divided 

into the anterior alinotum and behind it, the postnotum (Figure 5). The postnotum is 

continuous with the posterior edges of left and right pleurites, and it forms the upper 

surface of the rigid thoracic box. 


The alinotum is connected to the membranous part of the pleura that lies below, and 

this allows the alinotum to move up and down relative to the box underneath. Look 

closely at the pleural plates of the mesothorax and metathorax. A central pleural 

suture divides the pleurite in half and the pleural process is an extension of cuticle at 

the dorsal end of the pleural suture. It provides the central point of articulation for the 

wings, which pivot on the upper edges of the pleural process when pushed up and 

down by the flight muscles. As the notum rises, the wings are lowered; as it falls, the 

Figure 6 Anatomy of a typical insect leg. 

wings are raised. Similar to the structure of the head, the pleural suture has a ridge of 

cuticle folded inside, and this cuticle braces the thoracic box against the muscular 

forces of the flight muscles. Like the pleurites, the sternite is also divided into anterior 

and posterior portions separated by a suture that functions as an internal reinforcing 

apodeme. Take a close look at the suture and locate the external apodemes, apophyseal 

pits, which, along with the plural suture, maintain the rigidity of the thoracic box when 

the flight muscles contract. 

The three pairs of legs are attached on the ventral side of the pleurites and articulate 

with the ventral end of the pleural suture and with the pleurite. Each leg has six tubular 

segments, which means that each joint can only move in one direction (Figure 6). As 

you flex each of the segments, do they all move in the same direction relative to 

each other? The segment closest to the body is the coxa, and this is followed by the 

trochanter, the large femur, and the b. In the hopper, the trochanter is fused with the 

femur; so be sure to find the suture between the two. The fifth segment is the tarsus, 

and in insects it is divided by a series of up to five articulations called tarsomeres 

with the pretarsal segment and claws at the tip of the last tarsomere. The prothoracic 

and mesothoracic legs are very similar to each other; the metathoracic leg is modified 

for jumping and inside are the muscles that elongate the leg for the jump. 

Abdomen 

Ancestrally, the insect abdomen had eleven segments, but it’s often difficult to see all 

these because some have become fused together, or reduced in size, or modified 

because of the genitalia associated with the posterior segments. The first seven 

abdominal segments have the usual sclerotized tergite and sternite, and membranous 

pleura and spiracular opening. The terminal abdominal segments bear appendages 

involved in copulation and egg laying. 

Identify the tergite, sternite, pleural membrane, and spiracle on any of the first seven 

pregenital segments of your specimen (Figure 7). With a few exceptions, these 


segments will look identical. The exceptions include the tympanum on the first 

abdominal tergite, and the extension of the metathoracic sternite into a groove on the 

first abdominal sternite. The whole first abdominal segment is fused to the thorax, and 

Figure 7 External anatomy of the grasshopper abdomen 

this modification of the sternite helps to lock the abdomen to the thorax. The air sac 

behind the tympanal membrane is connected to the rest of the tracheal system and it 

opens to the outside through the spiracle beside the tympanum. Why is it important 

to have an air sac behind the tympanum? The remaining segments are the genital 

segments; these retain ancestral appendages that have been modified into the genitalia 

of the male and female. Look at both male and female specimens. 

In the female, the genital plate is the eighth sternite, the last one visible on the ventral 

surface of the body. Although the eighth tergite is unmodified, tergites nine and ten 

are partially fused. The eleventh tergite, an enlarged triangular plate, is the epiproct, 

which has the anus underneath it. Identify the short sensory circus, a modified 

eleventh appendage, located below the eleventh tergite. In the general plan of the 

female genitalia, the paired appendages of segments eight and nine form the 

ovipositor. The valves surround a central egg canal inside, and the gonopore opens at 

the base of the egg canal. The first paired valves of the ovipositor are on segment 

eight, and the second and third valves are on segment ten. In the hopper, valves one 

and three are large and heavily sclerotized; the second valve is reduced in size. The 

two valves in each pair interlock and are used to dig into the soil before the eggs are 

laid. 

In the male, the ancestral appendages at the tip of the abdomen are involved in 

transferring sperm, usually inside a spermatophore, to the female. It’s not easy to 

define a generalized plan for the male, and a variety of different morphologies and 

terms are used for the male genitalia in insects. Instead of being constructed from the 

appendages of the eighth and nine segments, male genitalia are formed from the ninth. 

In your specimen, both the eighth and ninth sternites are visible, and the ninth forms 

both the genital plate and the ancestral appendage that surrounds the male aedeagus 

that passes sperm to the female. On the dorsal surface, the tergites resemble those of 

the female, although the ninth and tenth are not fused. 


Cockroach: Periplaneta americana 

Cockroaches, in the insect order Blattodea, represent some of the most ancient and 

successful insects, and the best example is the roach Periplaneta americana that you 

will study in this lab. This cosmopolitan species can be found wherever there are 

humans. Despite the word americana in their name, they originate in Africa and are 

believed to have first appeared in North America in the early 1600s, soon after the 

continent became colonized. Their universal distribution is the result of global 

shipping, from the age of sailing vessels to the cargo planes of today. Their success 

can be attributed to their generalized body plan, which also makes this an excellent 

species for examining the anatomical features of an insect. 

External anatomy 

Use the preserved roaches for your observations of the external anatomy. 

Figure 8 Dorsal view of the main external features of a cockroach 

Head 

The head capsule of the roach is very small, and you will need to use the dissecting 

scope to see the various structures (Figure 8 and Figure 9). Two large, paired, 

compound eyes are visible on the sides of the head and like you did for the 

grasshopper look for the individual ommatidia that are the fundamental units of the 

compound eye. Most insects have an epicranial suture that starts at the top of the head 

and branches below the eyes; it splits open when the insect molts, but unfortunately, in 

the roach the suture is almost impossible to see as are many of the cranial sutures you 

saw in the grasshopper. In addition to the compound eyes, there are ocelli, known as 

simple eyes, but these will be hard to see in your specimen. 

A single pair of antennae is characteristic of the Atelocerata, and each antenna is 

composed of three basic parts: the scape, which is most proximal, the pedicel, and the 

annulated flagellum, which is most distal. 


The mandibulate mouthparts of the roach resemble those of the generalized 

“grasshopper-like” or primitive mouthparts you will examine later in the lab when we 

compare the mouthparts of different insects. Because the head capsule of a roach is 

very small, it is almost impossible to remove the individual mouthparts. Try and 

differentiate between the labrum, and the labium with its labial palps. Without 

removing mouthparts the labium and maxilla are best seen as a set of palps. If you pull 

the set of labial and maxillary palps back you should also be able to see the outer 

surface of the mandible. 

Thorax 

The two pairs of wings that are found in insects have a different appearance in 

cockroaches (Figure 8). The forewings, attached to the mesothorax, are leathery 

tegmen and protect the more delicate hindwings on the metathorax. You can see the 

difference between the wings by unfolding the hindwing and comparing it to the 

forewing. 

Figure 9 Ventral view of the main external features of a cockroach. 

The wings are supported by a series of veins, but don’t let the term vein confuse you; 

in insects the word has nothing to do with the circulatory system. The veins are ridges 

of cuticle that strengthen the wing, and, starting at the anterior edge, include the costa 

on the leading edge and the subcosta behind it. The radius, medial, and cubital veins 

are behind the subcosta, and are part of the remigium. Behind the remigium is the 

vannus region. This region in roaches is very large and includes the highly branched 

vannal and anal veins. Most of the folding of the wing involves this vannus region. 

Identify the three thoracic segments (Figure 8): prothorax, mesothorax, and 

metathorax and how they are divided into the dorsal notum (tergite), lateral 

pleurites, and the sternum (sternite) and the two pairs of wings attached to the 

pterothorax. In the roaches the pronotum is enlarged into a pronotal shield that 

protects the underlying body; this is an autapomorphy for the family. Spiracles are 


located on the last two segments of the thorax but appear between the pro- and 

mesothorax and the meso- and metathorax. 

Each leg has six tubular segments (Figure 9). Closest to the body is the large coxa, and 

this segment is followed by the trochanter, the large femur, and the tibia. The sixth 

segment is the tarsus, and in insects it is divided by a series of up to five articulations 

called tarsomeres. Like the antennal articulations observed on the flagellum, the 

tarsomeres are not segments. The claws at the tip are the nearly invisible pretarsus. 

Don’t let the name of the pretarsus confuse you; it is located after the tarsus, not 

before it as the name implies. A fleshy pad is often associated with the claw at the tip 

of the organism. This pad, when located between the claws, is referred to as an 

arolium; when located under and at the base of the claw, it is called a pulvillus. 

Abdomen 

Identify the typical abdominal segment components including: sclerotized tergite, 

sternite, membranous pleura, and spiracular openings. On the terminal segments 

identify the appendages involved in copulation and egg laying. Most insects have a 

complex ovipositor formed from the ancestral appendages of the eighth and ninth 

segments. But this is missing in roaches, an autapomorphy for the order, because of 

their use of an ootheca. In the female the eighth and ninth segments are reduced and 

hidden by the seventh, which is enlarged into two genital plates on either side of the 

genital opening where the ootheca forms. Unlike in the male specimen you will 

observe next, only the cerci are present. In the male the eight and ninth segments of 

the abdomen resemble the ancestral form. The tergites of the tenth and eleventh 

segments have a central notch and extend towards the back of the roach. The cuticular 

plates on either side of the anal opening are formed from the eleventh sternite; the 

tenth sternite is reduced in size and not visible. Males have a pair of cerci and stylets 

at the tip of the abdomen. 

The Insect Head 

Insect heads may have one of three different orientations based on the position of the 

mouthparts relative to the remainder of the head capsule. When the mouthparts are 

directed downward the head is considered hypognathous compared to prognathous, 

when the mouthparts are directed forward. In both these last two cases the oral 

appendages are located anteriorly but when positioned in the posterior region the head 

is opisthognathous. 

There are some distinct advantages to these different orientations.Many larval insects 

have prognathous heads because they live in the same medium on which they feed. 

Forward directed mouthparts are an obvious advantage. Take a look at the mealworm 

larva as our example of a prognathous head. Others such as the cicada and a variety of 

plant sap feeding insects must have the mouthparts penetrate the vascular plant tissue. 

To achieve this requires considerable strength and the opisthognathous head allows the 


insect to apply the pressure required to penetrate the plant. Identify the different mouth 

part types on the specimens when you examine their mouthparts. 

Figure 10 Three different types of insect heads From left to right, 

hypognathous, prognathous and opisthognathous 

Insect Mouthparts 

One of the autapomorphies defining the Kingdom Animalia is heterotrophy, and 

animals must consume high-energy chemical bonds in the form of food and then break 

these bonds to fuel their life’s processes. It should come as no surprise that animal 

diversity is often reflected in the varied diets of animals. Specialists feeding on one 

type of food, phytoplankton for example, have a very different morphology than 

burrowers living in the sediments of the bottom of the ocean. It’s the same with 

insects, and one of the reasons for their success is their ability to exploit a wide variety 

of food sources, from plant sap or blood to feathers, wood, or leaves. In order to 

consume these different types of food, insect mouthparts have become modified in 

various ways to create specialized tools for processing different types of food for 

consumption. 

An insect’s mouth lies at the base of a preoral cavity formed by the feeding 

appendages. This arrangement of appendages is ideal for the manipulation and 

modification of food before ingestion. The preoral cavity is like an open box: the 

paired mandibles and maxillae form one pair of opposing sides, and the labrum and 

labium form the other pair of sides. The front of the preoral cavity is the opening to 

the box; at the bottom is the mouth and the opening of the salivary glands. The preoral 

cavity is divided in two by the tongue-like hypopharynx; this creates a dorsal cibarium 

that leads to the mouth and, below the hypopharynx, a ventral salivarium with the 

opening of the salivary glands. What appendages on an insect’s head are not 

involved in feeding? 

One of the earliest innovations in insect mouthparts was a change from a mandible 

with one joint (condyle) connecting it with the head capsule to a double-jointed 

mandible articulating with the head capsule. The symplesiomorphy of the dicondylic 


mandible is used to separate the most primitive hexapods from the insects. Are there 

any other differences between insects and other more primitive hexapods? This 

chewing, mandibulate condition is primitive, and the grasshopper is the classic 

example of this morphology. Fluid-feeding insects have haustellate mouthparts. One 

of the reasons insects are so successful is that they are able to modify their body 

cuticle into an amazing array of shapes and forms; think of a dragonfly, a house fly, 

and a beetle, and you can see just how dramatic these changes can be. The same 

applies to their mouthparts. For example, a large grinding mandible can be modified 

into a delicate syringe-like structure that penetrates the circulatory vessels of plants 

and animals to suck up fluid plant sap or blood. Not only are the shapes of the original 

mouthparts changed, they often disappear completely. In this lab, you will get a 

chance to see some of these modifications. 

Mandibulate: Chewing and biting 

The ancestral mouthparts were mandibulate, and teeth on the mandibles ripped the 

food into pieces that are ground up by the molar surface of the mandible before being 

swallowed. As was mentioned earlier, the chewing and biting mandible is the most 

primitive type of insect mouthpart, and the grasshopper is a good example for studying 

this type of mouthpart. 

Grasshopper - mandibulate 

The mandibulate mouthparts of the grasshopper resemble those of the generalized or 

Figure 11 Mouthparts of the grasshopper. 

primitive insect (Figure 11). Prepared slides are available of the hopper mouthparts 

and as you examine them, locate them on the head of the preserved specimen. 

The labrum is suspended from the clypeus, and together the two pieces form a platelike 

appendage on the roof of the preoral cavity; the underside of the labrum is 

referred to as the epipharynx. Although not all entomologists agree, it is generally 

accepted that the labrum is formed from the fused appendages of the first head 

segment. The mandibles, highly sclerotized and hardened, have a cutting (incisor) 

and a grinding (molar) surface; find these on your specimen. The mandible articulates 


at the front and back of the gena and is dicondylic with cuticular extensions known as 

condyles that fit into grooves or slots. The presence of two joints means that the 

mandible swings in and out when the animal chews. Try to locate the articulations and 

the condyle. 

The maxillae are also paired, and the basal segments include the cardo that articulates 

with the gena and the stipes, with its tooth-like lacinia, a galea, and a leg-like 

maxillary palp. The teeth on the lacinia help the mandible to tear up food, while 

sensory hairs and bristles on the galea and palp are used to taste and feel the food. The 

labium is the fused appendages of the sixth head segment, and it forms the floor to the 

preoral cavity. It attaches to the head by the gula, which articulates across the back of 

the head. The gula has a fleshy inner ligula and outer sensory palps. The 

hypopharynx is not an appendage but lies in the preoral cavity as a tongue-like 

structure that has an oral opening above and a salivary opening below: the cibarium 

and salivarium, respectively. 

Haustellate: Fluid feeders 

Mouthpart morphologies in fluid-feeding insects are classified based on where the 

ingested fluid is found and how it is ingested. Piercing mouthparts are modified into 

long needle-like structures, called stylets, that pierce into a plant or animal and form a 

drinking tube to suck up its internal fluids. Insects can also feed on fluids by either 

sponging them off a surface or by using a drinking tube to feed on hidden or hard-toreach 

liquid foods. 

Piercing mouthparts are an autapomorphy that defines the Hemiptera who feed on a 

range of fluids from plant sap to vertebrate blood. The mosquito, horsefly, house fly, 

stable fly, and tsetse fly are all in the Order Diptera, which is divided into two groups: 

the lower and higher flies. One of the differences between the two dipteran groups is 

found in the morphology of their mouthparts. Lower flies have modified versions of 

all five mouthparts; higher flies have lost the mandible, and the palp is the only part of 

the maxilla that remains. Both piercing and sponging mouthparts are found in the 

Diptera. Adult Lepidoptera are all siphon feeders, using their reduced mouthparts to 

feed on the nectar of flowers. The fleshy mouthparts of a house fly, which extend as 

the fly crawls across a table are an example of the sponging type, and the long 

proboscis of a butterfly sipping nectar from within a flower is an example of the 

siphoning type of haustellate mouthpart. 


Mosquito - piercing 

When a female mosquito feeds, the labrum, maxillae, and mandibles (Figure 12) all 

penetrate the skin, and the labium folds out of the way as the mouthparts cut deeper in 

search of a capillary. Most of the cutting work is done by the maxilla and mandible. 

Once a capillary is located, the maxilla anchors the mouthparts, the mandibles cut 

through the capillary wall, and the tip of labrum is inserted into the blood vessel. 

Figure 12 Mouthparts of the mosquito. 

Saliva from the hypopharynx is added to the blood just before it is sucked up the food 

canal into the cibarium and then into the mouth. Only female mosquitoes are blood 

feeders, and their saliva contains an anticoagulant that is mixed with the blood so it 

doesn’t clot as it passes through the food canal. Like male mosquitoes, females also 

feed on nectar, and the sugar is used to fuel flight in both. The protein of the blood 

meal consumed by the female is used to produce eggs. Technically it’s not a piercing 

mouthpart when the mosquito feeds on nectar: Why and what type of a 

mouthpart is it? 

Although whole mount slides of mosquitoes can be used for observation of the 

mouthparts, it will be difficult to see the individual stylets that are usually inside the 

labial sheath. 


Horse fly – Cutting and sponging 

Horse flies, Tabanus spp., and deer flies, Crysops spp., are also lower Diptera. All the 

ancestral mouthparts are present, but highly modified and divided in two main 

functional components (Figure 13). The cutting blades are formed from the mandibles 

Figure 13 Cutting and sponging mouthparts of the horsefly or deer fly 

and the lacinea of the maxilla. They open and close much like a pair of scissors as they 

cut through the skin. It is the combined action of the paired mandibles and maxillae 

that makes the bite of these two flies so painful. The hypopharynx is elongated and has 

a central salivary canal that releases saliva into the blood that pools in a wound. The 

labellum is made up of the fleshy lobes of the labium, and each of these lobes is a 

modified labial palps. Take a close look at the surface of the labellum and you will see 

it is covered in small channels referred to as pseudotrachea. When the labellum 

contacts the blood in the wound, the pseudotrachea fill by capillary action. Partial 

rings of cuticle reinforce the pseudotrachea; this prevents the channels from collapsing 

when blood is sucked into the food canal that is formed from the inner surface of the 

labrum. Are maxillary palps present? 


House fly - sponging 

Figure 14 Mouth parts of a house fly. 

Although the sponging labium of the horse fly and house fly are similar, the house fly 

is a higher fly and has no mandibles, and the maxilla are reduced to maxillary palps 

and an internal cuticular rod that supports the attachment of the modified labium to the 

head. Like that of the horse fly, the labium of the house fly, Musca domestica, is a 

large fleshy structure (Figure 14). When sensory hairs on the fly’s feet detect food, the 

labium is lowered for feeding. The large labellum is formed from modified labial 

palps, and pseudotrachea use capillary action to absorb liquid foods. The mechanism 

is similar to how the labellum is used to sponge up blood in the horse fly. It’s a little 

different with solid foods. In this case, the fly salivates on the food, uses small teeth on 

the surface of the labellum to rasp and scrape at the food, combines the food with 

salivary secretions, and then sucks the nutrients up and into the mouth. How do the 

salivary secretions reach the tip of the labellum? 


Stable fly and tsetse fly - piercing 

The stable fly, Stomoxys sp., and the tsetse fly, Glossina sp., are higher flies. Similarly 

to other members of the group, the labium is the most prominent mouthpart; the 

mandible is missing and the palps are all that remain of the maxillae (Figure 16). The 

Figure 16 With the exception of the labellar teeth the piercing mouthparts of 

the stable fly and the tsetse fly are similar. 

tsetse and the stable fly are both blood feeders; to be able to pierce through skin, the 

fleshy, large labium typical of the higher flies has been modified into a strong, sturdy 

shaft or rostrum. The hollow cavity of the rostrum forms the food canal, and prestomal 

teeth at the tip of the rostrum are used to pierce through the skin. The teeth, which are 

part of the modified labellum, move in and out of the opening to the buccal cavity as 

they rasp and dig away at the skin until it is pierced; in the process the mouthparts are 

pushed deeper into the wound (Figure 15). The hypopharynx extends to the tip of the 

Figure 15 Labellar teeth in the Stable fly (A) and the tsetse fly (B). 

rostrum, and the hollow core forms the salivary canal, which delivers an 

anticoagulant-rich salivary secretion to the blood before it enters the food canal. 

Blood-feeding insects are often carriers, or vectors, of disease: Are either of these 

insects vectors, and if they are, what disease(s) do they carry? 


"Bugs": Hemiptera 

Hemipterans are specialists at piercing, and an autapomorphy of the order is their 

unique structural “beak” with its interlocking maxillary stylets inside (Figure 17). Like 

that of the mosquito, the labium forms a sheath surrounding the mouthparts that are 

modified into stylets. These are used to feed on a variety of foods ranging from seeds 

to plant fluids and blood. As a hemipteran feeds, the labium folds back out of the way, 

Figure 17 Mouthparts of a hemipteran define the insect order because of the 

zipper mechanism that locks the maxillary stylets together. 

and salivary secretions are important in preparing the food for ingestion. In seed 

feeders, salivary secretions liquefy the seed; in aphids, pectinases dissolve the glue 

between plant cells so the mouthparts can reach the vascular tissues in the plant. In 

blood feeders, salivary secretions include anticoagulents. Unlike the other insects you 

have examined, the Hemiptera don’t have a hypopharynx to deliver the salivary 

secretions to the tip of the mouthparts. Instead, the salivary canal is part of their 

unique interlocking maxillary. The paired maxillary stylets, linked to each other in a 

ziplock-like seal, create the food canal and the salivary canal. Mandibles are the main 

cutting structure and are found on either side the maxillary stylets. Labial palps have 

disappeared along with the maxillary palps. 

Hemipteran mouthparts can be examined from prepared slides, for example, of the 

squash bug Anasa tristis or whole mounts of the bloodsucking bug Rhodnius prolixus. 

The mouthparts on the slides may still be surrounded by the labium. 


Honey bee - Combination 

The haustellate mouthparts of the honey bee are used to drink the nectar of flowers, a 

reward for the bee’s services as a pollinator. Nectar is a near-perfect food: an almost 

pure solution of sucrose and its monosaccharide components of glucose and fructose. 

Plants produce nectar for no other reason than to attract pollinators, and the honey 

bee’s mouthparts have been modified to ingest this sweet solution. However, honey 

bee mouthparts have a second function that isn’t related to feeding. Their mouthparts 

work the waxes that build the hive’s honeycomb, which stores pollen, honey, and the 

incubation cells of larval bees. Strictly speaking, honey bees have haustellate 

mouthparts, but this second function of manipulating wax classifies them as having 

combination mouthparts. Horse flies could also be placed in the same category: 

why? 

The food canal in a honey bee is different from the simple food tube or “straw” in 

other insects (Figure 18). The difference is related to one of the properties of the insect 

cuticle. Insects are able to survive in a desiccating terrestrial environment because of 

their waxy, waterproof epicuticle. Although it hasn’t been mentioned previously, this 

is a problem for insects with haustellate mouthparts made of cuticle: the waxy, waterrepelling 

epicuticle also lines the food canal! In most cases, the pumping action of the 

pharynx is sufficient to overcome the problem. Honey bees, however, have another 

way of solving the problem. 

Figure 18 The mouthparts of a honey bee lap up nectar and then swing out of 

the way for mandible to manipulate wax. 

The donut-shaped food canal in a honey bee is made of a central, cuticular tongue, 

surrounded by a sheath formed by the other mouthparts; it is not like the simple tube 

of the other insects you have examined in the lab (Figure 9). The central tongue is 

formed from the fleshy glossa of the labium and is covered in setal hairs that trap 

liquid between the hairs. The tongue functions as cuticular sponge, whereby fluid 

beads up between the water repellent hairs like a droplet of water beads on a freshly 

waxed surface. When the honey bee feeds, its tongue is extended into the sugar 

solution and it becomes coated in nectar. When the tongue-like glossa is retracted, it 


ecomes surrounded by a sheath that is formed from the galea of the maxilla and 

modified labial palps. On the ventral surface of the glossa a groove extends up and 

into the cibarium and the mouth, and either capillary action or suction pulls the nectar 

up the donut-shaped food canal and into the mouth. 

As already mentioned, insects are covered in a waxy cuticle, and the abdominal 

sclerites of the worker bees produce extra wax, beeswax. The worker bee scrapes the 

excess wax from the abdomen and chews it with the mandibles, molding it into the 

hexagonal honeycomb of the hive and the caps that cover the cells. When mandibles 

are used, the other mouthparts are folded back and out of the way. What type of 

mouthparts do larval honey bees have? 

Butterflies and moths – Drinking tube 

Adult Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths, feed on the nectar of plants, and most of the 

ancestral mouthparts are either lost or highly modified. The coiled proboscis is formed 

from the galea of the maxilla; the maxillary palps have been lost (Figure 19). The 

galea is hollow and the space inside is an extension of the hemocoel. The proboscis is 

extended by hydrostatic pressure and recoiled by a combination of internal 

musculature and cuticular elasticity. The food canal is formed between galea, which is 

held together by hooks formed from cuticular hairs. Mandibles are missing, and the 

hypopharynx is part of the cibarial pump. Labial palps are all that remains of the 

labium. 

Figure 19 The mouthparts of Lepidoptera are perfect drinking straws for 

nectar. 


DragonFly nymph 

Dragon fly nymphs are deadly predators in freshwater lakes and streams. The whole 

labium has been modified into a viscous prehensile structure with opposable labial 

palps at the tip that grasp onto the prey. The overlapping visual field of the large 

compound eyes is located precisely at the point of full extension of the labium. When 

a potential meal wanders into this field of view, the mouthparts shoot forward and 

immediately retract carrying the trapped prey to the mouth. We only have a few of 

these slides so there will be one placed on demonstration in the lab; be sure to take a 

look. 

Figure 20 Mouthparts of a dragon fly nymph

Lab handout for External anatomy of the Atelocerata - Salinella

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