Insect mouthparts exhibit a range of forms. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Specialisation includes mouthparts modified for siphoning, piercing, sucking and sponging. These modifications have evolved a number of times. For example, mosquitoes (which are flies) and aphids (which are bugs) both pierce and suck; however, female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids. This section provides an overview of the individual mouthparts of chewing insects.
