MOUTHPARTS OF INSECTS W.R.T.

FEEDING HABITS

DR. SHOBHA SHRIVASTAVA

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY
PATNA WOMEN’S COLLEGE, AUTONOMOUS
PATNA UNIVERSITY, PATNA
 MOUTHPARTS OF INSECTS W.R.T. FEEDING HABITS

INTRODUCTION
BITING AND CHEWING TYPE
CHEWING AND LAPPING TYPE
PIERCING AND SUCKING TYPE
I) DIPTEROUS SUBTYPE
II) HEMIPTEROUS SUBTYPE
SPONGING TYPE
SIPHONING TYPE
INTRODUCTION

• Insects are the largest group of animals that occupy every type of habitat
available on earth.
• They also feed on a variety of food in different habitat condition.
• They are plant feeding, predators, parasitic and decomposers, for which they
must possess different types of feeding apparatus.
• When the insects evolved, they had biting and chewing type of mouth
parts to feed on the plant material available on land.
• As their food choices changed with time, these mouth parts modified to
suit the type of food eaten and feeding habits.
1. BITING AND CHEWING TYPE : e.g. Cockroach & Grasshopper.
• It is the primitive type of mouth parts.
• It is also known as Mandibulate type.
• It consists of the following parts -
i. Labrum : (Upper lip)
• It is flap-like, bilobed and attached to the clypeus by an articular membrane.
• It is movable and covers the mouth cavity from above.
• It helps to pull the food into the mouth.
• It holds the food in position so that mandibles can act on it.
• It forms the roof of the pre oral food cavity.
 LABIUM

BITING AND CHEWING TYPE OF MOUTH PARTS

ii. Labrum epipharynx :
• Inner surface of the labrum is referred to as epipharynx.
• It is membranous and continuous with the dorsal wall of the pharynx.
• It is an organ of taste.
iii. Mandibles :
• A pair of mandibles are present on the lateral sides of the buccal cavity.
• They are the first pair of jaws, also called as primary jaws or true jaws.
• Mandibles articulate with the cranium at two points.
• They are heavily sclerotized.
• Movement produced by abductor (outer) and adductor (inner) muscles.
• They are toothed on their inner border.
• There are two types of teeth.
• Distal are sharply pointed and are called incisor or cutting teeth and
proximal teeth are called molar or grinding teeth.
• They act transversely to bite and grind the food into small fragments.
iv. Maxillae :
• They are paired and more complicated than mandibles.
• They are called secondary jaws or accessory jaws.
• At proximal end the first sclerite cardo joins the maxilla to head.
• The second sclerite is called stipes which articulates with cardo.
• Stipes carries a lateral sclerite called palpifer which bears a five segmented
antenna like maxillary palp.
• On the distal end of the stipes, there are two lobes.
• The outer lobe is called galea and inner lobe is lacinia which is toothed.
• Maxillae direct the food into the mouth.
• They hold the food in place when the mandibles are in action.
• They assist in mastication of food.
• Sense organs connected with the perception of touch, smell and taste are
abundantly found in palpi.
v. Hypopharynx :
• It is a tongue-like organ.
• It is located centrally in the preoral cavity.
• Salivary gland duct opens through it.
vi. Labium / lower lip :
• It is a composite structure formed by the fusion of two primitive segmented
appendages.
• It bounds the mouth cavity from below or behind.
• It forms the base of the preoral cavity.
• It consists of three median sclerites -
a) submentum - large basal sclerite
b) mentum - middle sclerite and
c) prementum - apical sclerite
• On the lateral side of the prementum there are two small lateral sclerites
called palpiger bearing three segmented labial palpi.
• Distally prementum bears two pairs of lobes.
• The outer pair of lobes is called paraglossae and inner pair of lobes,
glossae.
• Both pairs when fused are called ligula.
BITING AND CHEWING MOUTH PARTS OF GRASSHOPPER
2. CHEWING AND LAPPING TYPE : e.g. Honey bee.
• Labrum and mandibles are as in biting and chewing type of mouth parts.
• But mandibles are blunt and not toothed.
• They are useful to crush and shape wax for comb building, ingest pollen
grains and other manipulative functions.
• Maxillolabial structures are modified to form the lapping tongue.
• The tongue unit consists of two galea of maxillae, two labial palpi and
elongated flexible hairy glossa of labium.
• The glossa terminates into a small circular spoon shaped lobe called
flabellum which is useful to lick the nectar.
CHEWING AND LAPPING TYPE OF MOUTH PATRS OF HONEY BEE
CHEWING AND LAPPING TYPE OF MOUTH PATRS
3. PIERCING AND SUCKING TYPE

i) DIPTEROUS / MOSQUITO SUBTYPE : e.g. Female mosquito

• Mouthparts of female mosquito consists of an elongate labium which is
grooved, forming a gutter, which encloses six stylets.
• The stylets are composed of
- Labrum - Epipharynx - enclosing the food canal
- Hypopharynx - containing the salivary canal
- Two maxillae and
- Two mandibles.
• Both the ends of maxillary stylets and mandibular stylets are saw-like and
suited for piercing flesh.
PIERCING AND SUCKING TYPE : DIPTEROUS / MOSQUITO SUBTYPE
• The stylets are inserted into host's skin by a strong downward and forward
thrust of body.
• Both mandibles and maxillae are reduced in male and they feed on plant
nectar and juices of decaying fruits.
• Female pierces the skin of human beings into which it injects saliva
containing an anticoagulant (to keep the blood flowing without clotting) and
an anesthetic (to keep the victim unaware of the bite) and sucks up the
blood.
• Labium does not pierce but folds up or back as stylets pierce.
• Maxillary palpi are present.
PIERCING AND SUCKING TYPE

ii) HEMIPTEROUS / BUG TYPE : e.g. Bed Bug, Plant bugs.

• Labium projects downwards from the anterior part of the head like a beak.
• Beak is four segmented and grooved throughout its entire length.
• At the base of the labium there is a triangular flap like structure called
labrum.
• Labium is neither involved in piercing nor sucking.
• It functions as a protective covering for the four stylets found with in the
groove.
HEMIPTEROUS / BUG TYPE OF MOUTH PARTS OF BEDBUG
HEMIPTEROUS SUB TYPE
• Both mandibles and maxillae are modified into long slender sclerotized hair
like structure called stylets.
• They are lying close together and suited for piercing and sucking.
• The tips of the stylets may have minute teeth for piercing the plant tissue.
• The inner maxillary stylets are doubly grooved on their inner faces.
• When these are closely opposed they form two canals viz., food canal and
salivary canal through which sap and saliva are conducted respectively.
• Saliva contains enzymes or toxins that can distort plant cell wall to permit
the stylets to penetrate down and reach phloem for sucking the sap.
• Both palps are absent.
4. SPONGING TYPE : e.g. House fly
• The mouthparts are of sponging type and are used for sucking
liquid food.
• The proboscis is fleshy, elbowed, retractile and projects downwards from
head.
• The proboscis can be differentiated into :
i) basal rostrum and
ii) distal haustellum and
iii) terminal disc-like labellum
• The proboscis consists of labium which is grooved on its anterior
surface.
• Within this groove lie the labrum-epipharynx (enclosing the food canal)
and slender hypopharynx (containing the salivary canal).
• Mandibles are absent.
• Maxillae are represented by single segmented maxillary palpi.
• The end of the proboscis is enlarged, sponge like and two lobed which acts
as suction pads.
• They are called oral discs or labella.
• The surfaces of labella have transverse capillary canals called pseudo
tracheae which collect the liquid food and convey it to the food canal.
• Labella function as sponging organs and are capable of taking exposed
fluids.
• These insects often spit enzyme containing saliva onto solid foods to liquify
them.
SPONGING TYPE OF MOUTH PARTS : e.g. House fly
5. Siphoning type : e.g. Moths and butterflies
• Mouth parts consists of elongate sucking tube or proboscis.
• It is formed by two greatly elongated galeae of maxillae which are
zippered together by interlocking spines and hooks.
• Galeae are grooved on their inner surface and when they are fitting together
closely they form a suctorial food canal through which the nectar is sucked
up.
• The proboscis is coiled up like watch spring and kept beneath the head
when it is not in use.
• By pumping of blood into galeae, the proboscis is extended.
• The other mouth parts are reduced or absent except the labial palps and
smaller maxillary palps.
SIPHONING TYPE OF MOUTH PARTS OF BUTTERFLY
SPONGING TYPE OF MOUTH PARTS OF BUTTERFLY