Insect Mouth Parts
1.Grasshopper | labium | described as the floor of the mouth. With the maxillae, it assists manipulation of food during feeding. |
| labrum | It serves to hold food in place during chewing by the mandibles |
| mandibles | being used to masticate (cut, tear, crush, chew) food items. |
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2. Butterfly | proboscis | consists of paired galea which, during feeding, fit together to form a tube that is used to suck up nectar (it acts like a straw) |
| mandibles | have a sensory function and they are used as hearing organs |
| Labrum and labium | Used to chew the food and the food then goes into the mouth of the insect |
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3. Housefly | Proboscis | Used for sucking out the liquids |
| labellum | The housefly is able to eat solid food by secreting saliva and dabbing it over the food item. As the saliva dissolves the food, the labellum acts in the usual way. |
| labium | used to channel liquid food to oesophagus |
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4. Honeybee | mandibles(jaws) | paired "teeth" that can be open and closed to chew wood, manipulate wax, cleaning other bees, and biting other workers or pests (mites). |
| proboscis | proboscis is mainly used for sucking in liquids such as nectar, water and honey inside the hive, for exchanging food with other bees (trophallaxis), and also for removing water from nectar |
| mandibular gland | which secretes a substance once thought to be used to soften wax |