from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Insecta \In*sec"ta\, n. pl. [NL. See {Insect}.]
1. (Zool.) One of the classes of Arthropoda, including those
that have one pair of antenn[ae], three pairs of mouth
organs, and breathe air by means of trache[ae], opening by
spiracles along the sides of the body. In this sense it
includes the Hexapoda, or six-legged insects and the
Myriapoda, with numerous legs. See {Insect}, n.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) In a more restricted sense, the Hexapoda alone.
See {Hexapoda}.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Zool.) In the most general sense, the Hexapoda,
Myriapoda, and Arachnoidea, combined.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The typical Insecta, or hexapod insects, are divided
into several orders, viz.: {Hymenoptera}, as the bees
and ants; {Diptera}, as the common flies, gnats, and
mosquitos; {Aphaniptera}, or fleas; {Lepidoptera}, or
moths and butterflies; {Neuroptera}, as the ant-lions
and hellgamite; {Coleoptera}, or beetles; {Hemiptera},
as bugs, lice, aphids; {Orthoptera}, as grasshoppers
and cockroaches; {Pseudoneuroptera}, as the dragon
flies and termites; {Euplexoptera}, or earwigs;
{Thysanura}, as the springtails, podura, and lepisma.
See these words in the Vocabulary.
[1913 Webster]