- Insecta
- Insecta In*sec"ta, n. pl. [NL. See {Insect}.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) One of the classes of Arthropoda, including
those that have one pair of antenn[ae], three pairs of
mouth organs, and breathe air by means of trache[ae],
opening by spiracles along the sides of the body. In this
sense it includes the Hexapoda, or six-legged insects and
the Myriapoda, with numerous legs. See {Insect}, n.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zo["o]l.) In a more restricted sense, the Hexapoda alone. See {Hexapoda}. [1913 Webster]
3. (Zo["o]l.) In the most general sense, the Hexapoda, Myriapoda, and Arachnoidea, combined. [1913 Webster]
Note: The typical Insecta, or hexapod insects, are divided into several orders, viz.: {Hymenoptera}, as the bees and ants; {Diptera}, as the common flies, gnats, and mosquitos; {Aphaniptera}, or fleas; {Lepidoptera}, or moths and butterflies; {Neuroptera}, as the ant-lions and hellgamite; {Coleoptera}, or beetles; {Hemiptera}, as bugs, lice, aphids; {Orthoptera}, as grasshoppers and cockroaches; {Pseudoneuroptera}, as the dragon flies and termites; {Euplexoptera}, or earwigs; {Thysanura}, as the springtails, podura, and lepisma. See these words in the Vocabulary. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.