Insect-Related Terms

 If you are unable to say the word then try to say the words in the parenthesis to practice

 

  • Antennae (ann·ten·ayy): Also called “feelers”; a pair of appendages an insect has on its head that allows them to sense the world around them.
  • Arachnid (a·rack·nid): A class of animals that includes spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks.
  • Arthropod (are·throw·pod): An arthropod is an animal with no internal spine, a body made of joined segments, jointed appendages and a hard covering, like a shell. Examples are insects, spiders, centipedes, crabs, and lobsters.
  • Colony (col·oh·nee): A group of living things of one kind that live together (like ants and bees).
  • Ecosystem (e·co·sis·tem): Group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment.
  • Endangered (n·dayn·jird): Refers to a plant or animal that is close to becoming extinct.
  • Entomologist (n·tuh·mol·low·just): A person who studies insects.
  • Extinct (x-tin-kd): No longer in existence; having ended or died out.
  • Exoskeleton (ek·sow·skeh·luh·ton): A hard covering that protects and supports the insect’s body.
  • Habitat (hab·uh·tat): The place or environment where a plant or animal lives.
  • Insect (in·sekt): Any animals that are arthropods, have six jointed legs, and a body made up of a head, thorax, and abdomen.
  • Invertebrate (in·vur·tah·bruht): Animals without a backbone.
  • Larva (laar·vuh): A young, wingless form of an insect that hatches from an egg and eventually transforms into pupates or chrysalis before becoming an adult.
  • Metamorphosis (meh·tuh·mor·fa·sis): A dramatic change that insects go through in their life cycle (like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly).
  • Molting (mole·ting): The process of shedding the insects rigid exoskeleton and replacing it with a newer, larger version. This allows the insect to grow.
  • Naiad (ny·add): The immature stage of an aquatic insect.
  • Nymph (nimf): The immature stage of insects who undergoes metamorphosis (hemimetabolism) before reaching it’s adult stage.
  • Pollinator (pol·in·nate·or): Any animal that helps pollinate plants by moving pollen from one plant to the next.
  • Species (spee·sheez): A group of organisms that are biologically similar and can create offspring.
  • Wings (weengz): Growths of the insects exoskeleton that allow them to fly.