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Glossary

Abdomen—The posterior of the three main body divisions.

Acaricide—A substance that kills mites and ticks.

Aculeate—An ant, bee, or wasp that possesses a stinger.

Adeagus—Part of the male genitalia used in the transfer of spermatozoa, which is inserted into the female during copulation; its shape is often used in distinguishing related species.

Adecticous—A pupa that does not have moveable mandibles.

Aestivation—A period of dormancy that is entered into when conditions are not favorable, particularly during very warm or very dry seasons.

Alate—An insect with wings.

Allopatric—Biologically relating to or taking place in separate areas.

Alloparental—The raising and caring of offspring by individuals other than the biological parents.

Ametabolous—Development in which little or no external metamorphic changes are noticeable in the larval to adult transition.

Anal—Relating to or being close to the anus.

Anaplasmosis—An infectious disease spread by organisms of the genus Anaplasma.

Androconia—Modified scales present on males containing glandular structures that produce an odor to attract the opposite sex.

Annulae—Ring-like segments, markings, or divisions.

Antennae—Pair of segmented appendages located on the head that perform sensory functions. Often referred to as “feelers.”

Antibiosis—A provocative association between organisms that is detrimental, inhibitive, and preventative to one or more of them.

Apiary—A colony of bee hives, often kept for the purpose of collecting honey.

Apterous—An insect without wings.

Arboreal—An insect that lives in, on, or among trees.

Arista—A large bristle on the dorsal apical antenna of flies.

Arolium—A small pad located between the claws, or at the base of the claw.

Arrhenotoky—Parthogenetic production of male offspring.

Bivouac—A mass encampment made up of ant workers within which the queen and brood live while their colony is in a stable environment.

Bivoltine—The production of two broods or generations in one season or year.

Bot—Larvae (maggots) of the fly family Oestridae, which are obligate endoparasites of mammals.

Brood—A group made up of members of a species that have hatched or become adult at approximately the same time and live together in a limited area.

Budding—The development of new colonies by one or more reproductive females and a group of workers.

Castes—Hierarchical groups of order present among populations of social insects that define the division of labor.

Caudal—Referring or pertaining to the posterior end of the body.

Cephalic—Referring or pertaining to the anterior end of the body.

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Glossary

Cephalothorax—The body region that consists of the head and thoracic segments.

Cerci—Paired appendages present at the posterior end of the abdomen.

Chaetae—Articulate or non-articulate hairs or bristles.

Chorion—The shell or covering of an insect egg.

Chrysalis—The pupa; an enclosed casement where insects pass the pupal stage and develop without ingesting food.

Clavate—Club-shaped.

Cocoon—A protective casing in which the pupa forms.

Colony—A locally isolated population.

Commensalism—Symbiotic relationship between two or more species in which no group is injured and at least one group benefits.

Communal—Cooperation between females of one species in production and building, but not in caring for the brood.

Conspecific—Belonging to the same species.

Cosmopolitan—Occurring throughout most of the world.

Crepitate—To make a series or sharp, crackling noises.

Cursorial—Adapted for habitual running.

Cuticle—The noncellular outer layers of the body.

Dealate—A sexually mature adult that drops or forcefully removes its wings.

Decticous—A pupa with mandibles that are moveable.

Dentate—Having teeth, or structures that function as teeth.

Diapause—A period of time in which development is suspended or arrested and the body is dormant.

Dichoptic—An organism with eyes that are apart or separate on the top of the head.

Drone—A male bee.

Dulosis—Enslavement of an individual of one species by another group in order to raise the pupae or larvae of the conquered individual.

Ecdysis—Molting or shedding of the exoskeleton.

Eclosion—Hatching or emerging from the egg or pupa.

Ectoparasite—A parasite that lives on the exterior body of its host.

Empodium—A bristleor pad-like growth between the claws of the foot.

Endemic—Belonging to or being from a particular geographical region.

Endopterygote—The internal development of wings.

Endocuticle—The innermost layer of the cuticle.

Endoparasite—A parasite that lives inside the body of its host.

Epicuticle—The surface layers of the cuticle.

Epigaeic—A group that lives or forages primarily above ground.

Eusocial—A group that produces a division of labor and cooperates in rearing its young.

Exocuticle—Hard and darkened layer of the cuticle lying between the endocuticle and epicuticle.

Exoskeleton—The external plates of the body wall.

Exopterygote—An insect whose wings gradually develop on the outside of the body and has no pupal stage.

Fossorial—Adapted to digging.

Frass—Insect excrement.

Glabrous—An organism or structure that is smooth and without hairs.

Gregarious—To live in a community or group.

Grub—A scarabaeiform larva.

Gynandromorph—An individual that exhibits both male and female characteristics.

Hematophagous—An organism that feeds or subsides on blood.

Hemimetabolous—An insect that undergoes simple metamorphosis with egg, larval, and adult stages.

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Hermaphrodite—An insect that has both male and female sexual organs.

Holometabolous—An insect that undergoes a complete metamorphosis with egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages.

Holoptic—An insect whose eyes are touching or almost touching.

Host—The organism in or on which a parasite lives.

Hyaline—Translucent, clear, and colorless.

Hyperparasite—A parasitic insect whose host is another parasite.

Imago—The adult stage in which an insect reproduces.

Inquiline—An animal that lives in the nest or abode of another animal species.

Instar—A stadium between two successive molts.

Larva—The immature and wingless form of an insect that hatches from the egg and increases in size as it progresses through several molts until it transforms into a pupa, chrysalis, or adult.

Maggot—A fly larva without legs or a well-developed head capsule.

Malpighian tubes—Excretory tubes of insects that arise between the median and posterior portions of the digestive tract.

Mandible—The first pair of jaws in insects.

Maxillae—The second pair of jaws located behind the mandibles in insects.

Meconium—Fluid ejected by an individual after emerging from its pupa or chrysalis.

Metamorphosis—A change in physical form or substance.

Moult—Shedding of the exoskeleton.

Mycetoxylophagous—An organism that bores into rotten wood.

Myiasis—Condition arising from infestation and invasion by fly larvae.

Myrmecophilous—“Ant-loving”; applied to insects that live in ant nests.

Neotenics—An adult that retains characteristics of immature stages.

Glossary

Nit—The egg of a louse.

Nocturnal—An organism that is active mostly at night.

Nymph—Larva of hemimetabolous insects.

Obligate ectoparasites—External parasites that cannot complete their cycle when removed from their host.

Ocellus—Simple form of eye present in an insect, consisting of a single beadlike lens.

Ootheca—The cover or case that surrounds a mass of eggs.

Oviparous—An organism that lays eggs.
Ovipositor—The apparatus through which the female lays
eggs.
Ovoviviparous—An organism that produces young that
hatch out of their egg while still within their mother.
Parasite—An organism that lives in or on the body of an-
other living organism, feeding off of its host.	GLOSSARY
ization.
Parthenogenesis—Development of an egg without fertil-

Phoresy—Nonparasitic relationship between two organisms in which one uses the other as a means of transportation.

Phytophagous—An organism that solely feeds upon plants.

Polyembryony—The production of several embryos from a single egg.

Polyphagous—An organism that consumes a variety of foods.

Predaceous—An organism that preys on other organisms.

Predator—An animal that attacks and feeds on animals that are usually smaller and weaker than itself.

Prognathous—An insect whose jaws are directed forward and head is in the plane of the main body axis.

Proleg—A fleshy, stumpy appendage that is not a leg present on the thorax or abdomen of some insect larvae.

Pseudovipositor—Terminal abdominal segment of females from where eggs are layed. Also known as oviscapt.

Ptilinum—An inflatable sac located on the head of some flies that assists them in emerging from their puparium.

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Glossary

Pupa—Stage that comes between the larval and adult periods, in which an organism does not feed and undergoes metamorphosis.

Puparium—Case in which a pupa is enclosed.

Pupiparous—Insects that give birth to fully-grown larvae and pupate almost immediately.

Queen cell—The cell in which a queen honey bee develops from egg to adult.

Raptorial—A structure (jaw or leg) adapted to seize and grasp prey.

Release calls—Alarm calls produced when an animal is seized by a predator.

Reniform—Kidney shaped.

Reticulate—A surface that appears netted or as a network of veins.

Saprophytic—An organism that lives on dead or decaying organic matter.

Scopa—A brush; a dense tuft of hair in which bees collect pollen; fringe of long, dense, and sometimes modified scales along the caudal margin of abdominal segment viii present in male Lepidoptera; an inflated, often pilose, apicoventral flange running most of the length of a gonostylus in male Symphyla (Hymenoptera).

Segment—Subdivision of a body or appendage between areas of flexibility associated with muscle attachments.

Sensu stricto—In the “strict sense.”

Seta—A bristle.

Social—An organism that lives in organized communities or groups.

Soldier—Member of a worker subcaste that functions to protect the colony.

Solitary—An organism occurring singularly or in pairs, but never in colonies.

Stadium—An interval between molts in a developing insect. See Instar.

Stridulation—A shrill, creaking noise made by rubbing body structures together.

Synanthropic—Associated with human habitation.

Synonym—Two or more names that have been given to the same species.

Tarsomeres—A subdivision or segment of the tarsus.

Tarsus—Leg segment attached to the apex of the tibia and bearing the pretarsus, consisting of 1–5 tarsomeres or segments.

Tegmen—The leathery forewing of an orthopteran.

Telson—Terminal region of the abdomen that bears the anus; found in the embryos of many insects but rarely in adults.

Thelytoky—Parthenogenesis in which only females are produced from unfertilized eggs.

Troglophilous—An organism that lives in caves.

Univoltine—A group that produces only one generation per year.

Vermiform larva—A legless, worm-like larva without a well-developed head.

Vibrissae—A pair of large bristles that is present just above the mouth in some organisms.

Viviparous—An organism that produces live young.

Workers—Sterile males and females that perform a colony’s work.

Xylophagous—An organism that bores into sound wood.

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