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Maxillae

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Maxillae 

in myriopods and insects, the second pair of jaws; in crustaceans, the second and third pairs.

In the chewing insects, the maxillae are used to tear apart and puncture the prey or grind the food; in the sucking insects (for example, butterflies), they form the tongue. In myriopods and insects, the maxillae are modified extremities of the fifth head segment, and in crustaceans, of the fifth and sixth head segments.



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--yet all these organs, serving for such different purposes, are formed by infinitely numerous modifications of an upper lip, mandibles, and two pairs of maxillae.
On its first arrival it appeared very thirsty, and with exserted maxillae drank eagerly of drops of water, this same circumstance has been observed by Strack: may it not be in consequence of the little insect having passed through a dry and rarefied atmosphere?
 
 
 
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