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Insects
Published: 07/01/2010
The largest and most diverse animals on earth, insects encompass over 925,000 different species. Found worldwide, in almost any climent and habitat, they share the common characteristics of a having an invertebrate (spineless) body divided into three parts (head, thorax and abdomen), with six legs, and a hard outer covering called an exoskeleton. They range in size from less than a millimeter to over 18 centimeters, and come in an endless variety of shapes and colors. Some insects include beetles, bees and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths. Insects are invertebrates in a class referred to Insecta. They are the most numerous and most widespread arthropods. Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the earth, with around 925,000 species described—more than all other animal groups combined: Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a small number of species have adapted to life in the oceans, where crustaceans tend to predominate. There are approximately 5,000 dragonfly species, 2,000 praying mantis, 20,000 grasshopper, 170,000 butterfly and moth, 120,000 fly, 82,000 true bug, 350,000 beetle, and 110,000 bee and ant species described to date. Estimates of the total number of current species, including those not yet known to science, range from two to thirty million, with most authorities favoring a figure midway between these extremes. The study of insects is called entomology.
Insects
