| Macroclimate |
the climate of the major geographical regions |
| Macroevolution |
Evolutionary change on a grand scale, encompassing the origin of novel designs, evolutionary trends, adaptive radiation, and mass extinction. |
| Macroscopic |
something visible to the naked eye or visible through a hand lens |
| Madreporite |
The sieve-like structure that is the intake for the water vascular system of echinoderms |
| Maggot |
the grub-like larval stage of some insects, e.g. flies |
| Malacology |
the study of molluscs |
| Malacostraca |
a class in the Crustacea containing the crabs, shrimps, lobsters and woodlice |
| Mallophaga |
the chewing/biting lice |
| Malpighian/Malphigian tubes |
Excretory organs of insects that empty into the digestive tract, remove nitrogenous wastes from the blood, and function in osmoregulation. |
| Mandibles |
the first or uppermost part of the jaw, often used when describing insects |
| Mandibulates |
Animals with jaw-like appendages, e.g. many insects and crustaceans. |
| Mantis shrimp |
Squilla mantis |
| Mantle |
lateral skirt-like fold of the molluscan body wall, usually having a spacious cavity beneath it. |
| Mantle cavity |
In molluscs, a cavity between the mantle and the rest of the body. The cavity is filled with water in aquatic molluscs, and often contains the gills. |
| Mantoidea |
The sub-order containing the mantises, praying mantis, etc. |
| Mask |
The specialised mouthparts of dragonfly and damselfly nymphs. The mask is a modified lower lip with moveable and jointed "jaws". The whole thing can be shot out at great speed to capture prey. |
| Mason wasp |
Eumenidae, also known as potter wasps |
| Maxillae/maxilla |
the second or lower part of the jaw, often used in describing insects. |
| Maxillary palp |
in insects, a leg-like structure arising from the maxilla |
| Mayfly |
Ephemeroptera |
| Mechanoreceptors |
Sensory receptors that detect physical deformities in the body associated with pressure, touch, stretch, motion and sound. |
| Meconium |
the first excreta of a newly emerged adult following the pupal stage |
| Mecoptera |
scorpion flies |
| Mediterranean climate |
a climate of hot, dry summers and wet, mild winters |
| Medusa |
the free-living, sexual, jelly-fish-like stage of certain cnidarians |
| Megafauna |
animals large enough to be seen with the naked eye |
| Melanic |
darkened |
| Melanin |
a black, bownish or dark red animal pigment containing nitrogen |
| Melanism |
the opposite of albinism. An undue development of colouring making the animal appear darker then normal. This is quite common in certain bumblebees. |
| Merostomata |
Horseshoe crabs, a class in the phylum Chelicerata |
| Mesoglea |
The jelly-like substance between the two layers of the body wall in Cnidaria and Porifera. |
| Mesozoa |
A phylum of marine endoparasites |
| Mesothorax |
the middle segment of an insect's thorax which bears the middle pair of legs and the front wings. |
| Metabolism |
the totality of an organism's chemical processes, consisting of catabolic and anabolic pathways. |
| Metameric |
a body largely comprising of a series of segments, as in the annelids |
| Metamerism |
The division of a body, from front to rear, in a series of segments, each segment containing representative of all the organ systems of the body, as seen in the Annelida. |
| Metamorphosis |
an abrupt change in body form from one larval stage to another, or from larva to adult, as seen in some insects. |
| Metanephridium |
A type of excretory tube in Annelida that has internal openings called nephrostomes which collect body fluids, and external openings called nephridophores. |
| Metathorax |
the second segment of an insect's thorax which bears the third pair of legs and the hind wings |
| Microclimate |
The highly localised climate of a strictly limited habitat, e.g. inside a flower. |
| Microevolution |
a change in the gene pool of a population over a succession of generations |
| Microhabitat |
a small, specialised habitat |
| Midge |
a small fly in the Chironomidae family |
| Migration |
A journey to a different region, following a well-defined route. Most animals that migrate do so according to seasonal changes to benefit from good breeding, feeding or overwintering conditions. |
| Millipede |
an invertebrate in the Class Diplopoda |
| Mimicry |
A form of camouflage in which an animal resembles another animal or inanimate object. It is common in insects, e.g. some harmless flies mimic stinging bees or wasps, and stick insects resemble twigs. |
| Mitochondria |
Organelles found in eukaryotic cells. The contain the enzymes responsible for aerobic respiration. |
| Mode of action |
The mechanism by which an insecticide affects an insect. |
| Mollusca |
the phylum containing the slugs, snails, octopus, and other shell-fish |
| Monerans/Bacteria |
Are the simplest fully-independent living things. They are prokaryotes, i.e. they lack the specialised structures found in eukaryotes. Energy is obtained from sunlight, organic and inorganic sources. |
| Monogenea |
A Class of Platyhelminthes commonly known as flukes |
| Monogonata |
A class of rotifers |
| Monogyny |
a colony of eusocial insects dominated by one queen, as in bumblebees |
| Monophyletic |
evolutionarily derived from a single ancestor, recognized by the joint possession of a shared, derived feature |
| Monoplacaphora |
A Class of Molluscs with a single conical shell |
| Morphospecies |
species defined by their anatomical features |
| Morphs |
two or more distinct forms of individuals in a population |
| Morphology |
The study of the form and structure of organisms |
| Mortality |
death |
| Mosquito |
a fly in the Culcidae family |
| Moss animal |
Bryozoa |
| Moth |
An insect in the Order Lepidoptera |
| Motile |
something that has the capacity for movement |
| Moult |
shedding of exoskeleton in order to increase size, as seen in most insects, chelicerata and Crustacea |
| Mullerian mimicry |
mutual mimicry by two or more unpalatable species |
| Multipoint
stability |
the tendency of a population
to regain stability at a different level. |
| Multivoltine |
having several broods or generations per year, e.g. as in the cabbage white butterfly |
| Muscidae |
the family of true flies which contains the house fly and the stable fly |
| Muscle cells |
Contract and relax to move the different parts of the animal's body. |
| Mussel shrimp |
also known as seed shrimp, a Crustacean in the Ostrocoda Class. |
| Mutagen |
an agent that produces or enhances the rate of mutation |
| Mutant |
any organism, gene, or character that has undergone a mutational change |
| Mutation |
a rare change in the DNA of genes that ultimately creates genetic diversity |
| Mutualism |
Symbiosis that benefits the members of both of the participating species. |
| Mycetophilidae |
fungus gnats |
| Myiasis |
a disease or injury caused by the feeding of larval flies on live flesh |
| Myrmecochorus |
dispersed by ants, e.g. seed dispersal |
| Myrmecology |
The study of ants. |
| Myrmecophily |
the pollination of plants by ants |
| Myrmeleontidae |
ant lions |
| Mystacocarida |
a Class of Crustacea |
| Nacre |
The innermost, lustrous layer of a mollusc shell, secreted by the mantle, mother-of-pearl. |
| Natality |
births |
| Natural history |
the study of nature |
| Native |
Indigenous. Living naturally within a given area. |
| Naturalized |
an alien, or introduced species, that has become successfully established |
| Natural selection |
The differential success in reproduction of different phenotypes resulting from the interaction of organisms with their environment |
| Nauplius |
the earliest larval stage of Crustaceans when they (usually) have 3 pairs of functioning limbs |
| Nautiloid |
A free-swimming marine animal in the phylum Mollusca. It has a coiled, chambered cell. |
| Nectar |
the sugary substance secreted by flowers to attract insects so aiding pollination |
| Nectarivorous |
feeding on nectar |
| Nematocyst |
the stinging cell of cnidarians |
| Nematodes |
Unsegmented round worms, usually small, often parasitical. |
| Nematomorpha |
hairworms, Gordian worms, horsehair worms |
| Nemertea |
ribbon worms |
| Neonatal |
newborn, recently hatched |
| Neoteny |
the retention of juvenile features into the adult stage |
| Nephridium |
a excretory tube in earthworms |
| Nest odour |
the distinctive odour of a nest enabling the inhabitants to distinguish their nest from the others, e. g. as in social hymenoptera |
| Nest parasitism |
symbiosis between 2 termite species where one colony lives in and feeds on the walls of the nest of another (host) species |
| Neurons |
Nerve cells which receive and transmit stimuli. |
| Neuroptera |
the order of insects containing the lacewings, alder flies, ant lions etc. |
| Neurotoxin |
A substance that deactivates nerves or that disrupts the way nerves work. Some insects can produce neurotoxins and they are commonly found in many insecticides. |
| Niche |
the limits for all important
environmental features, within which individuals of a species can survive, grow
and reproduce. |
| Nit |
an egg of a louse, especially the human head louse |
| Noctuidae |
family of moths containing the cutworms and army worms |
| Nocturnal |
Active at night |
| Nomad |
a wandering organism |
| Nomenclature |
the system and application of scientific naming of species |
| Noosphere |
that part of the biosphere altered or influenced by man |
| Notochord |
A reinforcing rod that runs the length of the body. It is found in chordates. |
| Notostraca |
tadpole shrimp |
| Nucleus |
The central body in a eukaryotic cell. It contains the genetic information on chromosomes. |
| Nuda |
a class of sea gooseberry (Ctenophora) |
| Nuptial flight |
the mating flight of insects, especially social insects, where it involves the queen mating with males. |
| Nutrient cycle |
the path of a chemical substance (carbon, nitrogen, etc.) back and forth between the living and non-living worlds |
| Nymph |
the immature stage of certain insects in which there is some similarity to the adult form |
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