Insect mandibles are a pair of appendages near the insect's mouth, and the most anterior of the three pairs of oral appendages

Their function is typically to grasp, crush, or cut the insect's food, or to defend against predators or rivals. Insect mandibles, which appear to be evolutionarily derived from legs, move in the horizontal plane unlike those of vertebrates, which appear to be derived from gill arches and move vertically.