In insect anatomy, the arista is a simple or variously modified apical or subapical bristle, arising from the third antennal segment. It is the

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

ary remains of antennal segments, and may sometimes show signs of segmentation. These segments are called aristameres. The arista may be bare and thin, sometime appearing no more than a simple bristle; pubescent, covered in short hairs; or plumose, covered in long hairs. The presence of an arista is a feature of the

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...

(flies)

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Brachycera The Brachycera are a suborder of the order Diptera. It is a major suborder consisting of around 120 families. Their most distinguishing characteristic is reduced antenna segmentation. Description A summary of the main physical characteristic ...

and may be especially well-developed in some species. It is also present in some members of

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

(true bugs), specifically in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. The arista is often covered in multiple kinds of sensilla, or sense organs, such as chemo, hygro, and thermoreceptors, which allow the insects to detect changes in their environment.

References

Insect anatomy Brachycera {{insect-anatomy-stub Auchenorrhyncha