||In*sec"ta (?), n. pl. [NL. See
Insect.] 1. (Zoöl.) One of
the classes of Arthropoda, including those that have one pair of
antennæ, three pairs of mouth organs, and breathe air by means
of tracheæ, 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.
2. (Zoöl.) In a more restricted
sense, the Hexapoda alone. See Hexapoda.
3. (Zoöl.) In the most general
sense, the Hexapoda, Myriapoda, and Arachnoidea, combined.
&fist; The typical Insecta, or hexapod insects, are divided into
several orders, viz.: Hymenoptera, as the bees and ants;
Diptera, as the common flies and gnats; 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.
