It can be difficult to tell the difference between male and female insects, except if they look very different – i.e. when they are dimorphic.
When male and female animals look the same or similar, they are monomorphic.
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The Dwarf Spider (Erigone atra) is an arachnid in the Linyphiidae family of dwarf spiders.
The Dwarf Spider is black or dark-brown. Its carapace (shell) is dark and its abdomen usually has a black marking. The male has a more pointed abdomen than the female. It has eight brown legs covered with hairs. It has tooth-like pedipalps near its mouth. It has two rows of four eyes to total eight eyes. The back row of eyes is straight and the front row of eyes is slightly curved.
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The Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus) is a small insect. It is also known as the Yellow Hill Ant.
The Yellow Meadow Ant varies from yellow to light-brown. It has a head, abdomen, and thorax with six legs.
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The Blue Fly (Calliphora vicina) is a small insect in the Calliphoridae family of blow flies. It is also known as the Blow Fly, the Bottle Fly, or the Blue Bottle Fly.
The Blue Fly has a metallic iridescent blue colour on its thorax and abdomen. It has bright orange cheeks. It has black bristles (small hairs) on its body.
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The Glypheoid Lobster (Neoglyphea inopinata) is a decapod (ten-legged) marine crustacean. Crustaceans include crabs and shrimp. The Glypheoid Lobster is related to the Spiny Lobster.
The Glypheoid Lobster has a hard exoskeleton (outer shell) with eye stalks. The shell is covered with pointed tubercles (like mini-teeth). It has gills to breathe oxygen from the sea water. Its abdomen has six segments, ending with a fan-shaped tail called a telson. It has 10 limbs.
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The Lamenting Grasshopper (Eyprepocnemis plorans) is an insect in the Acrididae family of grasshoppers.
The Lamenting Grasshopper has a short brown body (with a head, thorax, and abdomen) with two yellowish-cream stripes from head to tail. It has short antennae. It has powerful hind (back) legs which enable it to leap very high. It also has two pairs of wings and can fly long distances.
The Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa caffra) is an African insect in the bee family. It is not a Bumblebee, because a Bumblebee has a hairy body.
The Carpenter Bee has six legs, two pairs of wings, and three body parts: (1) head, (2) thorax, and (3) abdomen. It has a shiny black body with two yellow bands or orange-red bands. It has black wings. Its two antennae are medium-sized. The male does not have a stinger. The female has a stinger on its tail, but it is not aggressive.
The Carpenter Bee grows to about 4-5 centimetres (2 inches) long.
The Tent-Web Spider (Cyrtophora moluccensis) is an arachnid in the Araneidae family of Orb-Weavers. It is also called the Dome-Web Spider.
The Tent-Web Spider is varied in size and colour, but is usually yellow to green to brown-black. It has 2 body parts: the cephalothorax (head and chest), and the abdomen. On its head, it has up to 8 eyes, and 2 fangs in its mouth. Next to its mouth are 2 structures, like mini antennae, called pedipalps. Its abdomen has colourful markings. Its abdomen is where it has its spinnerets and silk-producing glands used to make its web. It has 8 legs, and each leg has 6 joints. Its legs are usually striped and contain hair-like spikes. Its leg hairs detect smells and vibrations.
The Large Mud-Dauber Wasp (Sphecidae) is an insect of East Africa. It is also called Mud Wasp.
The Large Mud-Dauber Wasp has a large head, round thorax, a skinny waist, and a bulbous abdomen. Its eyes are also large. It has six legs attached to its thorax. It has two downward curved antennae. Its body is shiny red-black or red-brown.
The Termite (Blattodea or Isoptera) is an insect. Only some termites have wings.
The winged Termite has a dark head with two antennae, dark eyes (only winged termites have eyes), and strong jaws for chewing. It has a thorax with six legs and four transparent (clear) wings. It has an abdomen.
What’s the difference between a Damselfly and a Dragonfly?
Both a damselfly (order Odonata, sub-order Zygoptera) and a dragonfly (order Odonata, sub-order Epiprocta) are insects.
A damselfly keeps its wings folded when it is resting, along or above the abdomen.
A dragonfly holds its wings flat, away from the body, when it is resting.
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