1. One fun thing to do when you encounter any insect is to decide what kind of mouth parts it has. There are two main types of mouth parts. 1. Biting parts for solid food. 2. Sucking parts for liquid food. At the sides of the mouth insects often have a pair of palps which help in detecting and tasting food.

2. An insect’s mouthparts are a clue to what it eats. How? The mouthpart is made especially for the type of food the insect eats. Butterflies have mouthparts formed like a straw for sucking nectar from flowers. Butterflies have mouthparts formed like a straw for sucking nectar from flowers.

3. Flies have mouthparts formed like a sponge to soak up liquids. Flies have mouthparts formed like a sponge to soak up liquids.

4. Mosquitoes have needle-like mouthparts for piercing skin before sucking blood. Mosquitoes have needle-like mouthparts for piercing skin before sucking blood.

5. Beetles have mouthparts similar to a human’s mouth to help chew plants. Beetles have mouthparts similar to a human’s mouth to help chew plants.

6. What Type Mouthpart Does the Milkweed Bug Have?

7. Milkweed Bug Mouthparts Up Close

8. Milkweed Bug Mouthpart at Rest