Basic Insect Morphology

The following diagrams outline common characteristics found in insect anatomy, including detailed parts of wings, legs, and head.
Human Insect Anatomy
Three parts of an insect: head, thorax, abdomen. Humans have a head, torso (similar to thorax) and abdomen. Spiders have a combination of head and thorax (cephalothorax) and abdomen.

House fly anatomy
This house fly drawing illustrates mouthparts and wing  and leg segments among other characteristics. Note that halteres are unique to flies and are used for balance. Flies, unlike many other insects, only have one pair of true wings.

Areas of insect wing
This illustration shows general areas of an insect wing.

Beetle morphology
Example of typical beetle morphology, including elytra (hard outer wing), membranous underwing, and leg sections.

Insect head
Insect head characteristics, including eye parts (ocellii and compound eye), and mouthparts (labrum, maxilla, mandibles)