2 definitions
for Hexapoda
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Hexapoda \Hex*ap"o*da\, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. "e`x six + -poda.]
(Zool.)
The true, or six-legged, insects; insects other than
myriapods and arachnids.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The Hexapoda have the head, thorax, and abdomen
differentiated, and are mostly winged. They have three
pairs of mouth organs, viz., mandibles, maxill[ae], and
the second maxill[ae] or labial palpi; three pairs of
thoracic legs; and abdominal legs, which are present
only in some of the lowest forms, and in the larval
state of some of the higher ones. Many (the Metabola)
undergo a complete metamorphosis, having larv[ae]
(known as maggots, grubs, caterpillars) very unlike the
adult, and pass through a quiescent pupa state in which
no food is taken; others (the Hemimetabola) have
larv[ae] much like the adult, expert in lacking wings,
and an active pupa, in which rudimentary wings appear.
See Insecta. The Hexapoda are divided into several
orders.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 :
Hexapoda
n : insects; about five-sixths of all known animal species [syn:
Insecta, class Insecta, class Hexapoda]
