An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects Insects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include approximately 2,200 species of praying mantis, 5,000 dragonfly, 20,000 grasshopper, 82,000 true bug, 120,000 fly, 110,000 and similar small creatures.

Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers and make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine environments. In Queensland Coordinates: 23°0′S 143°0′E / 23°S 143°E Queensland is a state of Australia which occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific pastures, for example, it is normal to have a greater total weight of Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae as presently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. The species in this large family are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family is fairly unstable, with numerous competing theories, and new proposals appearing quite often. It is probable that many of the subfamilies larvae under the surface than of the beef cattle grazing above it.

A great many creatures depend on insects as their primary diet, and many that do not (and are thus not technically insectivores) nevertheless use insects as a protein Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain. The amino acids in a polymer chain are joined together by the peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acids in a protein is defined by the sequence of a gene, which is encoded in the genetic code. In supplement, particularly when they are breeding.

Some examples of insectivores include nightingale The Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats, aardwolf, echidna Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, are four extant mammal species belonging to the Tachyglossidae family of the monotremes, an order of egg laying mammals. Together with the Platypus, they are the only surviving members of that order comprising the only extant mammals that lay eggs. Although their diet consists largely of ants and termites,, swallows The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Swallow is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the Barn Swallow, anteaters Anteaters are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa. The name "anteater" is also colloquially applied to the unrelated antbear, numbat, echidna, and pangolin, carp Carp is a common name for various species of an oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. Some consider all cyprinid fishes carp, and the family Cyprinidae itself is often known as the carp family. In colloquial use, however, carp usually refers only to several larger cyprinid species such, frogs Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). The name frog derives from Old English frogga, (compare Old Norse frauki, German Frosch, older Dutch spelling kikvorsch), cognate with Sanskrit plava (frog), probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European praw = "to jump", lizards Lizards are a very large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains. The group, traditionally recognized as the suborder Lacertilia, is defined as all extant members of the Lepidosauria which are neither sphenodonts (i.e., Tuatara) nor, bats Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera . The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight (other mammals, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, can only glide for limited distances). The word Chiroptera comes from the Greek words cheir (χειρ) "hand", and spiders Spiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. Spiders are found world-wide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every ecological niche with the exception of air and sea colonization. As of 2008, approximately 40,000 spider. Insects also can be insectivores. Examples would be dragonflies A dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera. It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the, hornets Hornets are the largest eusocial wasps, that reach up to 55 mm in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa, and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex (part of the head behind the eyes), which is proportionally larger in Vespa; and by the anteriorly rounded gasters (the section of the abdomen behind the wasp waist), ladybugs Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds , ladybugs (North American English) or lady beetles (preferred by some scientists). Lesser-used names include ladyclock, lady cow, and lady fly, and praying mantises Mantodea or mantises is an order of insects which contains approximately 2,200 species in 9 families worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. Most of the species are in the family Mantidae. Historically, the term "mantid" was used to refer to any member of the order because for most of the past century, only one family was.

Insectivorous plants Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients (but not energy) from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings also exist, including the Venus flytrap The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves comes into contact with, several types of pitcher plants Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over evolutionary time. However, some pitcher plant genera, butterworts, sundews Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with over 170 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition that sundews are able to, bladderworts, the waterwheel plant, brocchinia bromeliads, and others. These generally grow in nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere-poor soils, which they instead obtain by trapping insects. Technically these plants are not strictly insectivorous, as they consume any animal small enough to be trapped by them; indeed, the larger varieties of pitcher plant have been known to consume small rodents and lizards.

See also

Look up insectivore in Wiktionary Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. Unlike standard dictionaries, it is written collaboratively by volunteers, dubbed "Wiktionarians", using wiki software, allowing articles to be changed by almost anyone with access to the website, the free dictionary.
Feeding behaviours Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffix -vore from Latin vorare, meaning 'to devour', or phagy, from Greek φαγειν, meaning 'to eat'
Carnivores A carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' (Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour'), is an animal that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of vertebrate and/or invertebrate animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging. Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their
adult Hematophagy Hematophagy is the habit of certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words, haima "blood" and phagein "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious proteins and lipids that can be taken without enormous effort, hematophagy has evolved as a preferred form of feeding in many small animals such as worms · Insectivore · Lepidophagy Fish scales are a surprisingly nutritional food source, containing layers of keratin and enamel, as well as a dermal portion and a layer of protein-rich mucus. They are a rich source of calcium phosphate. However, the energy expended to make a strike versus the amount of scales consumed per strike puts a limit on the size of the lepidophage; such · Man-eater Man-eater is a colloquial term for an animal that adds humans to its diet. Although human beings can be attacked by many kinds of animals, man-eaters are those that have incorporated human flesh into their usual diet. Most reported cases of man-eaters have involved wolves, tigers, leopards, lions, crocodiles, alligators, and sharks. However, they · Molluscivore A molluscivore is a carnivorous animal which eats mainly molluscs. The term durophagy is used to describe this eating behavior · Mucophagy Mucophagy is feeding on mucus of fishes or invertebrates. It may also refer to consumption of mucus or dried mucus in primates, which serves no nutritional function · Myrmecophagy Myrmecophagy is a feeding behavior defined by the consumption of termites and/or ants, particularly in those animal species whose diets are largely or exclusively composed of said insect types · Ophiophagy Ophiophagy is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which hunt and eat snakes. There are ophiophagous mammals (such as the skunks and the mongooses), birds (such as snake eagles, the Secretary Bird, and some hawks), lizards (such as Crotaphytus collaris), and even other snakes, such as the Central and South American · Osteophagy Osteophagy is the practice whereby herbivores consume bones. This practice usually occurs place in a nutrient-deficient environment. The animals consume the bones in order to obtain such necessary elements as phosphorus and calcium · Piscivore Some animals, like the sea lion, or alligator, are not completely piscivores, while others, like the Aquatic Genet, are strictly dependent on fish for food. The name piscivore is derived from the Latin word for fish, "piscis" · Spongivore A spongivore is an organism that feeds primarily on animals of the Phylum Porifera, commonly called sea sponges
reproductive Oophagy Oophagy is the practice of embryos feeding on eggs produced by the ovary while still inside the mother's uterus · Ovophagy Ovophagy is a rare though widely observed condition in the reproduction of certain animals, whereby fetuses will devour each other prior to birth. Subsequent research has shown ovophagy to be sporadic and highly uncommon among the vast majority of animal species · Paedophagy Paedophagy literally means the "consumption of children". It is a term used to describe the feeding behaviour of fish, or other animals, whose diet is partially, or primarily the eggs or larvae of other animals. The term is frequently applied to various species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi of the genera Caprichromis, · Placentophagy Placentophagy is the act of mammals eating the placenta of their young after childbirth
cannibalistic Autophagy Self-cannibalism is the practice of eating oneself, also called autocannibalism, or autosarcophagy. A similar term which is applied differently is autophagy, which specifically denotes the normal process of self-degradation by cells. Whilst almost an exclusive term for this process, autophagy nonetheless has occasionally made its way into more · Cannibalism In zoology, cannibalism is the act of one individual of a species consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded for more than 1500 species[citation needed] · Human cannibalism Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans · Self-cannibalism Self-cannibalism is the practice of eating oneself, also called autocannibalism, or autosarcophagy. A similar term which is applied differently is autophagy, which specifically denotes the normal process of self-degradation by cells. Whilst almost an exclusive term for this process, autophagy nonetheless has occasionally made its way into more · Sexual cannibalism
Herbivores Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism, known as a herbivore, consumes principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, some protists and a small number of parasitic plants can be considered herbivores. However, herbivory is generally restricted Folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose and relatively little energy. For this reason folivorous animals tend to have long digestive tracts and slow metabolisms. Many enlist the help of symbiotic bacteria to release the nutrients in their diet · Frugivore A frugivore is a type of herbivore that eats a substantial portion of fruit. A few frugivores species eat fruit exclusively, but many also consume leaves and/or insects. Frugivory is a very common diet type. For example, 66% of herbivorous mammals are frugivores. Since frugivores eat mostly fruit they are highly dependent on the abundance and · Graminivore In zoology, a graminivore is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass (specifically "true" grasses; plants of the family Poaceae). The word is derived from Latin graminis, meaning "grass", and vorare, meaning "to eat." Graminivory is a form of grazing · Granivore Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source (Hulme and Benkman 2002), in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many families of vertebrates and invertebrates (especially mammals, · Nectarivore In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey Possum , and Geckos (genus Phesulma) in Mauritius. The · Palynivore · Xylophagy
Others Bacterivore · Coprophagia · Detritivore · Fungivore · Geophagy · Omnivore
Methods Apex predator · Bottom feeding · Browsing · Hypercarnivore · Filter feeding · Grazing · Kleptoparasitism · Scavenging · Trophallaxis
Predation · Antipredator adaptation · Carnivorous plant · Carnivorous fungus · Carnivorous protist · Category:Eating behaviors
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'Insectivore' News
Is the Audubon Zoo's new baby giant a boy or girl? - The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
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Is the Audubon Zoo's new baby giant a boy or girl?

The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com, LA - Jan 28, 2009

Now they're fed insectivore pellets mixed and softened in water, with a side of crickets, ants, and other bugs. Another lesson was learned the hard way: ...
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