Download Invertebrates

John Eakin
TRFE 2016
An Introduction to the
Insects of Panama
Insects
What is an Insect?
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
• 3 pr jointed legs
• Chitaneous exoskeleton
• Compound eyes
• 1 pr antennae
• 3 body segments
ꟷ Head
ꟷ Thorax
ꟷ Abdomen
Class Insecta
• Considered most diverse
animal group on the
planet
• Estimated to represent up
to 90% of animal species
on Earth
Roles of Insects in Rainforests
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Pollination
Conversion of nutrients
Wood Decomposition
Forest Health
Food source
Insect Orders
And a few other groups…
Proturans, Springtails, and Diplurans: the small guys
Class Protura
Class Diplura
• Eyes absent
• Antennae absent
• Front legs projected
forward beyond the
head
• Eyes absent
• Beaded antennae
• Filliform or
forcep-like cerci
Class Collembola
• Forked furcular on
abdomen (springtail)
• Peg-like collophore
on ventral side of
first abdominal
segment
Ice Crawlers and Mantophasmids: the ones we won’t see
Order Mantophasmitodea
• Cylindrical, wingless body
• Mandibulous,
hypognathous mouthparts
• 5 segmented tarsi
• Cerci one segmented (short)
• Found only in a few
locations in Africa
Order Grylloblattodea
• Cylindrical, wingless body
• Mandibulous, hypognathous
mouthparts
• 5 segmented tarsi
• Cerci eight segmented (long)
• Found in caves or on ice at
high elevations
Angel Insects, Stoneflies and Scorpionflies: rare encounters
Order Zoraptera
• Small, soft bodies
• Wings absent (typically)
• 2 segmented tarsi
• Cerci one segmented
(short)
• 9 segmented antennae
• Found in rotting wood
Order Plecoptera
• Wings fold flat and
extend past tip of
abdomen
• Ladder like vein pattern
diagonally across wings
Order Mecoptera
• Enlarged, elongated
head with chewing
mouthparts
• Front and hind wings
similar in shape and
venation
• End of males’
abdomen scorpionlike
in appearance
Bristletails and Silverfish: possible pests
Order Thysanura
• Flat, wingless body covered
with dusty scales
• 3 terminal filaments of
roughly equal length (2
cerci, 1 median caudal
filament)
• Found in both sylvan and
domestic environments
Order Archeognatha
• Cylindrical, wingless body
• 3 terminal filaments (2 short
cerci, 1 long median caudal
filament)
• Prefer grassland
environments
Lice and Fleas: Panamanian parasites
Order Siphonaptera
• Teardrop shaped body
(bilaterally flattened)
• Long saltatorial hind legs
• Heavy bristles often on
gena and/or pronotum
• Parasites of mammals and
birds
Order Phthiraptera
• Chewing lice have broad, flat
heads as wide or wider than their
thorax
• Sucking lice have conical heads
narrower than their thorax
• Enlarged tarsal claws used to
grasp individual hairs of host
Barklice, Booklice, and Twisted-winged Parasites: Look closely
Order Psocoptera
• Narrow joint between head
and thorax
• Thread-like antennae
• Booklice tiny and wingless
• Barklice larger and winged
Order Strepsiptera
• Females never leave body of host
• Males have fan shaped hind wings
and club shaped forewings
• Eyes “raspberry-like” in
appearance
• Branched antennae
More Likely
Embioptera: Webspinners
• 3 families with 14 species in
Panama
• Basal segment of front tarsi
enlarged for silk gland
• Use silk to make a web-like pouch
or gallery in which they live
Ephemeroptera: Mayflies
Hydrosmilodon primanus
• 6 families with 28 species in
Panama
• Large, triangular front wings
• Small, fan-shaped hind wings
• Short, bristle-like antennae
• Short lived adult stages
• Found near fresh water bodies
Dermaptera: Earwigs
Geracodes litus
• 4 families with 6 species in Panama
• Thick, membranous wings folded
under short forewings
• Cerci modified into pinchers
• Eyes “raspberry-like” in appearance
(absent in some small parasitic
dermapterans)
• Rarely or do not fly
• Nocturnal
Trichoptera: Caddisflies
• 14 families with 299 species in Panama
• Wings held over body like tent
• Wing surface covered with tiny setae
(hairs)
• Aquatic larvae that make protective
cases from stone and sediment
• Usually nocturnal
Thysanoptera: Thrips
• 9 families with 246 species in Panama
• Spindle shaped body (widest in the
middle)
• Long, fringed hairs on wings
• Mouthparts concealed
• Small, often found on flowers and
other living plant material
Neuroptera: Lacewings, Antlions, Dobsonflies, and the like
• 6 families with 30 species in
Panama (maybe more)
• Antennae predominantly
visible
• Numerous cross veins on
leading edge of wings
• Larvae are often predators of
other invertebrates, have
been used as biological
controls
Owlfly… ?
Phasmatodea: Walkingsticks
• Numerous species in Panama (not well
documented)
• Body and legs long and thin (twig-like)
• Some shaped like leaves
• Chewing mouthparts
• Prothorax shorter than mesothorax
and metathorax
• Specimens in Panama from Bacteria
genus recorded up to 24 cm
Blattodea: Cockroaches
• 4 families with 117 species in
Panama
• Elongate oval bodies
• Pronotum is transverse oval
shaped
• Both winged and wingless
species
• Often found in association
with domestic environments
but also common away from
human settlement
• Many species nocturnal with
long antennae
Isoptera: Termites
• 3 families with 56 species in Panama
• Broad junction between thorax and
abdomen
• Beaded antennae
• Exhibit a caste social structure
• Workers cream colored with oval
heads (sterile males and females)
• Soldiers have larger, sclerotized
heads with mandibles
• Queens can live up to 50 years
We will definitely
see these
Odonata: Dragonflies (Suborder Anisoptera)
Brachymesia furcata
Red-Tailed Pennant
Orthetrum glaucum
Blue Marsh Hawk
Erythemis vesiculosa
Great Pondhawk
• 4 families with 97 species in Panama
• Rectangular stigma (pigmented
patch) near wing tip
• Large compound eyes
• Bristle-like antennae
• Typically hold wings out horizontally
when at rest
• Hind wings with large anal region
• Highly territorial of aquatic breeding
environment
• Aggressive aerial predators
Odonata: Damselflies (Suborder Zygoptera)
• 10 families with 73 species in Panama
• Rectangular stigma (pigmented patch)
near wing tip
• Large compound eyes
• Bristle-like antennae
• Typically hold wings vertical when at rest
• Front and Hind wings are similar in shape
and stalked
• Aggressive aerial predators
• Nymphs are important aquatic predators
Hetaerina cruentata
Argia oenea
Fiery-eyed Dancer
Mecistogaster ornata
Ornate Helicopter
Coleoptera: Beetles
Acromis sparsa
Tortoise beetle
• Numerous (estimates from BCI are
40,000+ species in Panama)
• 40% of all insect species
• 25% of all known life
• Extremely diverse group
• Hardened front wings (elytra) meet in a
straight line down the center of the back
Gibbifer impressopunctatus
(Cana)
Megasoma elephas
Elephant Beetle
Coleoptera: Beetles
Family Cerambycidae
Long horned beetle
Coleoptera: Beetles
SuperFamily Curculionoidea
Weevil
Heterosternus oberthuri
Mantodea: Praying Mantids
Choeradodis stalii
Tropical Shield Mantis
Mantoida maya
Little Yucatan Mantis
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5 families with 47 species in Panama
Enlarged prothorax
Triangular head
Raptorial front legs for catching prey
Ambush predators, some highly evolved
for camouflage
Asiadodis squilla
Asian Shield Mantis
Mantodea: Praying Mantids
Asiadodis squilla
Asian Shield Mantis
Acanthops falcate
South American Dead Leaf Mantis
Mantodea: Praying Mantids
Asiadodis squilla
Asian Shield Mantis
Diptera: Flies
• Numerous families and species
• Only one pair of membranous wings
present
• Hind wings modified into halters
• Mouthparts modified for piercing and
sucking or rasping and lapping
Family Tabanidae
Horse Fly
Genus Mallophora
Bee Killer Fly
Family Asilidae
Robber Fly
Diptera: Mosquitoes
• All members of the family Culicidae
• 288 different species in Panama
• Mouthparts modified into piercing
sucking stylets
• Considered to be the deadliest animal in
the world
• Vectors for many infections including:
− Maleria
− Chikungunya
− Yellow Fever
− West Nile Virus
− Dengue Fever
− Filaiasis
− Zika Virus
Hemiptera: True Bugs
• Numerous families and species
• Traditionally was split into two
orders:
− Heteroptera
− Homoptera
• Mouthparts modified to suck
• Front wings (hemelytra) cross to
form trianglular scutellum on back
• Front wings often leathery at the
base and more membranous at the
tips
• Many feed on plants
• Few are carnivorous or parasitic
• Some Adults adapted to aquatic life
• Some instances of parthenogenesis
Hemiptera: Heteroptera
Family Pentatomidae
Stink Bugs
Family Coreidae
Leaf Footed Bug
Family Reduviidae
Assassin Bug
Hemiptera: Homoptera
Family Cicadidae
Cicadas
Family Cicadellidae
Leaf Hoppers
Hymenoptera: Ants, Bees, and Wasps
• Numerous families and species
• Have a “wasp waist” formed by two
narrow segments connecting the
thorax and the abdomen
• Many have hamuli (tiny hooks) on
hind wings that hold the two sets
together
• Females typically have a specialized
oviposter at the end of their
abdomen for depositing eggs
• Some species exhibit strong social
and hierarchal interactions including
strong colony formation
Hymenoptera: Bees
Family Apidae
Bumble Bees and Honey Bees
Family Halictidae
Sweat Bees
Hymenoptera: Wasps
Family Sphecidae
Sand Wasps
Family Ichnuemonidae
Ichnuemonid Wasps
Family Vespidae
Paper Wasps
Hymenoptera: Ants
Bullet Ant
Leaf Cutter Ants
Army Ant
Family Formicidae
Hymenoptera: Ants
Hymenoptera: Ants
Orthoptera: Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets
• Numerous families and
species
• Have filiform antennae
• Powerful saltatorial hind legs
for jumping
• Front wings thickened and
held parallel with one
another
• Primarily consume plant
matter
• Females have special
oviposter on the end of their
abdomen for egg deposition
Orthoptera: Grasshoppers
Orthoptera: Grasshoppers
Orthoptera: Katydids (long horned grasshoppers)
Orthoptera: Crickets
Orthoptera: Crickets
Lepidoptera: Butterflies and Moths
• Numerous families and species
• Two pairs of wings with large
surface area
• Both body and wings covered
with scales (almost always)
• Can display bright or striking color
patterns
• Important plant pollinators
Lepidoptera: Butterfly and Moth Caterpillars
Lepidoptera: Butterflies
Lepidoptera: Butterflies
Lepidoptera: Butterflies
Philaethria sp.
Papilio sp.
Swallowtail
Adelpha sp.
Lepidoptera: Moths
Lepidoptera: Moths
Batesian Mimicry
Lepidoptera: Moths
Automeris io
Io Moth