insecta

Main Entry: In·sec·ta
Pronunciation: in-'sek-t&
Function: noun plural
: a class of Arthropoda comprising segmented animals that as adultshave a well-defined head bearing a single pair of antennae, three pairs of mouthparts, and usually a pair of compound eyes, a 3-segmented thorax each segment of which bears a pair of legs ventrallywith the second and third often bearing also a pair of wings, and an abdomen usually of 7 to 10 visible segments without true jointed legs but often with the last segments modified or fitted withspecialized extensions (as claspers, stingers, ovipositors), that breathe air usually through a ramifying system of tracheae which open externally through spiracles or gills, that exhibit a variety oflife cycles often involving complex metamorphosis, and that include the greater part of all living and extinct animals —in·sec·tan /-t&n/ adjective