mandibles
Beetle's biting parts
Mandibles are the jaws, particularly the lower jaw in vertebrates.
In insects and crustaceans, mandibles are the paired mouthparts used for biting, crushing, or cutting food—a beetle's mandibles can slice through wood, an ant's can carry loads many times its body weight.
The word often appears in descriptions of creatures with prominent or powerful jaws: The stag beetle's mandibles looked like antlers.
Mouth's bony framework
- maxillaUpper jaw bone
- mouthpartsOral feeding structures
- pincersGripping tool or claws
- oralOf the mouth
beak · rostrum · palps · labrum · labium · appendages · articulation · hinge
Sensory appendages on insects
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
- entomologyStudy of insects
invertebrate · beetle · ant · termite · grasshopper · cricket · wasp · hornet
Pierce with teeth
jaws
Mouth's bony framework
- maxillaUpper jaw bone
- mouthpartsOral feeding structures
- pincersGripping tool or claws
oral · beak · rostrum · palps · labrum · labium · appendages · articulation · hinge · joint
antennae
Sensory appendages on insects
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
entomology · invertebrate · beetle · ant · termite · grasshopper · cricket · wasp · hornet · dragonfly
bite
Pierce with teeth
pierce · tear · crush · cut · grasp · hold · pinch · sever · slice · shred
forceps
Medical grasping instrument
carnivore
Creature eating only animals
capture · venom · fangs · attack · strike · ambush · trap · paralyze · subdue · kill
- animal featuresbeaks, scales, antlers, fur, ears
- creature partsdragon scales, dragon wings, mermaid tail, unicorn horn, vampire fangs
- creature traitsclaws, fangs, horns, scales, talons
- Insect Traitssix-legged, winged, antennae, exoskeleton, segmented
- Insect Worldbutterfly, moth, beetle, cicada, locust
- insect biologyantennae, compound eyes, exoskeleton, spiracles, metamorphosis