2. (Zo["o]l.) In a more restricted sense, the Hexapoda alone.
See {Hexapoda}.
3. (Zo["o]l.) In the most general sense, the Hexapoda,
Myriapoda, and Arachnoidea, combined.
Note: 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 earwings; {Thysanura},
as the springtails, podura, and lepisma. See these
words in the Vocabulary.
Note: They have four membranous wings, with few
reticulations, and usually with a thickened, dark spot
on the front edge of the anterior wings. In most of the
species, the tongue, or lingua, is converted into an
organ for sucking honey, or other liquid food, and the
mandibles are adapted for biting or cutting. In one
large division ({Aculeata}), including the bees, wasps,
and ants, the females and workers usually have a sting,
which is only a modified ovipositor.