||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.
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.
In"sec*ta*ry (?), n. A place for keeping living insects. --
In`sec*ta"ri*um (#), n. [L.]
In`sec*ta"tion (?), n. [L. insectatio. See Insectator.] The act of
pursuing; pursuit; harassment; persecution. [Obs.] Sir T. More.
In`sec*ta"tor (?), n. [L., fr. insectari to pursue, freq. fr. insequi.
See Ensue.] A pursuer; a persecutor; a censorious critic. [Obs.]
Bailey.
In"sect*ed (?), a. Pertaining to, having the nature of, or resembling,
an insect. Howell.
In*sec"ti*cide (?), n. [Insect + L. caedere to kill.] An agent or
preparation for destroying insects; an insect powder. --
In*sec"ti*ci`dal (#), a.
In*sec"tile (?), a. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, insects.
Bacon.
In*sec"tion (?), n. [See Insect.] A cutting in; incisure; incision.
||In`sec*tiv"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., from L. insectum an insect + vorare
||to devour.] (Zoöl.) 1. An order of mammals which feed principally
||upon insects.
||
They are mostly of small size, and their molar teeth have sharp cusps.
Most of the species burrow in the earth, and many of those of cold
climates hibernate in winter. The order includes the moles, shrews,
hedgehogs, tanrecs, and allied animals, also the colugo.
2. A division of the Cheiroptera, including the common or insect-eating
bats.
In*sec"ti*vore (?), n.; pl. Insectivores (-vrz). [F.] (Zoöl.) One of
the Insectivora.
In`sec*tiv"o*rous (?), a. [See Insectivora.] Feeding or subsisting on
insects; carnivorous. The term is applied: (a) to plants which have
some special adaptation for catching and digesting insects, as the
sundew, Venus's flytrap, Sarracenia, etc. (b) to the Insectivora, and
to many bats, birds, and reptiles.