Download Grasshopper Dissection

Grasshopper Dissection
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Background Information
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Insects are arthropods with jointed appendages, segmented
bodies, and an exoskeleton composed of chitin.
Insects are in the class Insecta & are the largest and most diverse
group of animals on earth.
Insects have three body regions (head, thorax, & abdomen), 3
pairs of legs attached to the thorax, a single pair of antenna
attached to the head, mouthparts adapted for chewing or sucking,
and two pairs of wings.
Some insects may have a single pair of wings or may be
wingless.
Background Information
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Insect legs are often adapted for digging, crawling, jumping, or
swimming.
Insects are mostly terrestrial and breathe air which enters small
lateral openings on the body called spiracles and circulates in a
system of ducts to all organs and tissues.
Their chewing or sucking mouth parts are adapted for feeding
on plant or animal materials.
Habitat: grasslands, meadows, fields
Arthropods
Arthropods make up the largest phylum of animals in the
animal kingdom. Arthropod means “jointed foot”. All
arthropods have jointed appendages. Arthropods also
have segmented bodies and an external covering called an
exoskeleton.
Insects
Insects are one type of arthropod. Insects have three body regions:
a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.
Antennae
Compound
Eyes
Six Legs
All insects also have six legs, one or two pairs of wings,
one pair of antennae, and a pair of compound eyes.
Parts Of The Head
The grasshopper has 5 eyes, two compound eyes and three simple eyes
(ocelli). The antenna are sensory organs located on the head.
Mouth Parts
The labrum is used to hold food. The mandibles are teeth used to
chew food. The maxilla are used to chew and taste food. The
labium is used to hold food while it is being chewed.
Grasshoppers breath through tiny holes in their abdomen
called spiracles.
close up of
one spiracle
A female grasshopper has a longer abdomen than a male
that ends with a four pointed tip called an ovipositor.
The ovipositor is used to lay eggs.
(ovary)
heart
brain
anus
esophagus
rectum
gizzard
The esophagus is used to swallow food. The crop, gizzard,gastric ceca, stomach, large intestine, and
small intestine are digestive organs.
The rectum stores waste and the anus removes wastes from the body.
The malpighan tubules collect waste from the blood.
In the female grasshopper the ovaries produce eggs. In males, the testes produce sperm.