Insect

In zoology, an insect was a type of arthropod native to numerous planets in the galaxy. 
Insects which evolved into humanoid form were described by the term "insectoid", while the term "" was often (inaccurately) used to describe any unidentified insect. () 
== Biology ==
Insects were hexapods that had an exoskeleton, and a body separated into three sections: head, thorax, and abdomen. They were primarily differentiated from arachnids due to the anatomical features of wings and e. 
While tracking what was believed to be a Xindi-Insectoid biosign with a scanner through , Doctor Phlox nearly shot Porthos with a hand weapon as he came around a corner. Annoyed, Phlox told T'Pol that "I would have thought this could tell the difference between a giant insect and a beagle." T'Pol retorted that "It can, if you use it properly." ()
Some insects could be identified by an audible "buzz". (; ) This was also somewhat evident in the unusual language of the Jarada, which contained sounds such as that of an elongated S, Z, and B. While confusing to Humans, their way of spelling demonstrating the inner workings of an insect mind. ()
Immature insects were identified as larvae. 
Many insects were social creatures, where individuals lived in a group, known collectively as a colony or swarm; those living on another organism were known as an infestation. Individual insects, in some cases, were known as s, which were lead by a . () 
According to Doctor Phlox, many species fed on underground fauna and flora such as tubers, fungi, and insects. () Some Earth species were known to hibernate. ()
In 2376, The Doctor gave a lecture on indigenous insects of the Delta Quadrant on the . The Doctor was less than amused when Ensign Farley started snoring. ()
Some insects, such as bees, made honey in their s from nectar in honeycombs. Their honeycombs, which were hexagonal in shape were considered on Earth to be "natural insect designs". ()
=== Insect bites and stings ===
Some insects were capable of producing stings and bites as a defense mechanism. 
While pretending to be a swarm of bees along with the other surviving children of the Starnes Exploration Party, Mary Janowski playfully threatened to sting James T. Kirk. ()
Insect bites were often vectors in the transmittal of diseases, like malaria. Based on the condition Nancy Randolph was in when encountered on Lactra VII in 2269, Doctor Leonard McCoy's diagnosis guessed that she had "a malarial type infection caused by an insect bite." Though, without his medikit, he was unable to help her in any way. ()
Trills are allergic to insect bites, as according to Jadzia Dax, "[..] the biochemical connections between the host and symbiont [cause a reaction that they] can't tolerate." () 
In 2369, Q remembered Vash about the insect bite on Erabus Prime which could have cost her life if Q was not there to save her. ()
The planet Orellius had was the home to an insect that transmitted an uncurable disease, deadly to Humans. The colony there, lead by Alixus, lost four settlers, including Meg, to the disease. ()
While visiting the planet, later known as, New Earth, in 2372, Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay bitten by an unidentified burrowing insect, and contracted a difficult to cure virus. This disease had been previously cured by the Vidiians after they developed an anti-viral agent to combat it, years before. The serum was later acquired by The Doctor through Doctor Danara Pel. ()
In 2380, Jack Ransom was bitten by a Galardonian insect while facilitating second contact on Galardon. The bite transmitted a rage virus that quickly spread throughout the . The cure for the insect transmitted virus was found in the mucus of the planet's native spider cow. ()
== Species interactions ==
=== Study ===
The study of insects was a specialty known as entomology. () Exobiology also included the study of insects, as was documented in the text about termites and other burrowing insects in the Handbook of Exobiology. ()
Insect traps could be used to capture said creatures for further study. Following capture, analysis of insect protein cofactors or determining the bio-molecular evolution of a planet's ecosystem. () 
Microscopes were another tool that could be used to study insects. When Roga Danar inquired as to Counselor Deanna Troi's interest in him, as he was kept in a holding cell, he asked "[..] am I just an interesting specimen that landed on your ship like an insect to be studied under your microscope?" ()
In the distant past, insects on Earth became stuck in . Q used such an [[analogy] to describe the helpless situation that the was in during the game he presented to the bridge crew in 2364, when he tempted to woo William T. Riker with the of the . ()
Museums such as the Norcadian Museum of Entomology, which had an exhibit of beetle larvae from the equatorial subcontinent of Norcadia Prime, were dedicated to the study and display of insects. () 
==== Discoveries and encounters ====
Archer IV was known to have a diverse insect population, which was the reason T'Pol selected Cutler to join the landing party when visited the planet in 2151. ()
Upon hearing the hyper-accelerated voice of , Captain James T. Kirk mistook it as hearing insect life, while visiting Scalos in 2368. When Spock noted that insects were not registering on his tricorder, Kirk rebutted that they registered with his ears. Later, when Deela recalled his description, she acknowledged his words were "[a]ccurate, if unflattering." ()
When the Crystalline Entity devastated Melona IV in 2368, it left behind no traces of life – no vegetation, no insects, no bacteria. ()
When Data observed his cat Spot asleep in 2370, he noted to Counselor Troi that Spot had had twelve muscle spasms in the past fifteen minutes, indicating that he was dreaming. This led Data to wonder what Spot could possibly dream about, as his twitching and his rapid breathing seemed to suggest anxiety. It confused the android, as he knew that Spot had "never seen a mouse or any other form of rodentia," or "never encountered an insect, or been chased by a canine." () 
Based on the preliminary planetary surveys by Commander Benjamin Sisko of a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, it had "[a] lot of plant life, fish, some insects, but no predators or large animals." Later during the same mission, Quark complained about the conditions on the same planet, claiming that "[i]t isn't the so much as the humidity and the insects, the stench of these flowers." ()
=== Consumption ===
The Ferengi frequently ate insects (or "bugs"), among other types of arthropods and mollusks, as food, though, according to Quark, they (or at least, he) preferred "[o]nly certain bugs," specifically, "Ferengi bugs." () Flaked blood flea was one type of insect-based Ferengi delicacy. () Likewise, beetles were often the source of various Ferengi foodstuff, as they appeared in such dishes as puree of beetle and tube grubs, or even enjoyed by Rom, plain. (, et al.)
Parasitic beings, through their Human hosts, consumed insect larvae during their attempted takeover of the Federation in late 2364. For his dinner at Starfleet Headquarters that year, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who was not under parasitic control, was offered a bowl of such creatures while he sat with several other officers who were under parasitic control. Commander William T. Riker, who arrived later, posing as an individual under parasitic control, began to act as if he were about to consume a handful of these larvae, when he pulled a phaser and began shooting people. ()
Insects could also be inhaled through the nose as a stimulant in the form of beetle snuff. (, et al.)
=== Pest control ===
Certain types of insects were often treated as pests by other species, such as leaf miners and spittlebugs to grapevines, tomato bugs to tomato plants, and locusts which were destructive to crops in general. (; ; ; )
Insects were kept at bay or killed by the use of insect repellent or a fly swatter. () Other means of insect control included the use of flypaper. () Leaf miners could be controlled by a bacillus spray. ()
=== Additional cultural references ===
The Tamarians used florkas, small flying insects, in their ascension process. ()
The Clown ed a game known as the "insect game", as a means of "taking [his bad mood] out" on his hostages. ()
==== Insults and analogies ====
Q referred to Human life as an "insect existence". ()
Just before being drugged and forced off the to Delta Vega in 2265, Gary Mitchell – experiencing aftereffects from a disastrous encounter with strange energies from the galactic barrier – threatened that he would soon squash the Enterprises crew "like insects." 
Once Mitchell was imprisoned on Delta Vega, James T. Kirk reminded him of the insect analogy but Mitchell excused his behavior by claiming that he had been drugged at the time. ()
According to Captain Garth, he believed that "the Federation would have [officers] grub away like some ants on some somewhat larger than usual anthill." But, unlike other officers, he was "not an insect," but rather the "master of the universe". ()
According to Christine Chapel– while inadvertently noting the nuances of the android as he forced the creation of the android – she claimed that when she sat in on the classes Korby taught, she noted that he "wouldn't even dream of harming an insect or an animal. Their life was sacred to you then." (
According to Rafin, the Kradin nullified his "old mother's mother" in her sleep, as he described her as someone "who never told an unkind word nor nullified an insect in all her days and nights on this sphere." () 
Mortimer Harren likened space exploration, which he disliked, to "[s]tumbling from star to star like a, a drunken insect careening toward a light source." ()
== Insects by species ==
;Blattodea (approx. order)
* Roach
* Termite
** Spitting termite
;Coleoptera (approx. order)
* Beetle
** Alverian dung beetle
** Dalvin hissing beetle
** Hupyrian beetle
** Snow beetle
** Spawn beetle
** Tree scarab
;Diptera (approx. order)
* Fly
** Brussel fly
** Glob fly
** Housefly
** Lavafly
** Talaxian Furfly
** Tsetse fly
* Mosquito
;Hemiptera (approx. order)
* Spittlebug
;Hymenoptera (approx. order)
* Ant
** Army ant
** Fire ant
** Teirenian ant
* Bee
* Wasp
;Lepidoptera (approx. order)
* Butterfly
** Mordian butterfly
* Moth
;Phthiraptera (approx. order)
* Louse
** Kerplickian louse 
;Orthoptera (approx. order)
* Cricket
* Grasshopper
** Locust
;Siphonaptera (approx. order)
* Flea
** Belzoidian flea
** Photonic flea
** Regalian fleaspider
;Unspecified
* Barrowbug
* Florka
* Garanian bolite
* Lyssarian Desert Larvae
* Unidentified
** Unnamed insects
*** Galardonian insect
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
The Borg were initially conceived of, by Maurice Hurley, as a race of insects, but were changed to the more budget-friendly cyborgs that went on to become extremely famous. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, pp. 169 & 180)
=== External link ===
* 
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Category:Lifeform classifications