Definition: Mouthparts modified into long or short, sclerotized piercing devices that are used to penetrate the host/prey/substrate to gain access to food, and liquids are transported through the food canal with the aid of a pressure gradient created by a sucking pump.
Definition: Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France. URL for main institutional website: http://www.mnhn.fr/museum/foffice/science/science/sommaire.xsp
