Antennae, << an TEHN ee, >> are long, delicate sensory organs on the heads of almost all insects and most other arthropods (see Arthropod). Insects, centipedes, and millipedes have a single pair of antennae. Crustaceans, such as lobsters and crabs, have two pairs of antennae. Spiders and their relatives have none.
The antennae contain many nerves and may be sensitive to heat, vibrations, water vapor, and certain chemicals and gases. Fine hairlike parts that cover the antennae serve as touch receptors. Tiny pits in the antennae of some insects make them useful in smelling. A Junebug has nearly 80,000 such smelling pits. The antennae of male mosquitoes have hairlike parts that are sensitive to sound. These mosquitoes can use their antennae to detect the sound of female mosquitoes as much as 1/4 mile (0.4 kilometer) away.
