Insect
hideInsects (Class Insecta) are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include approximately 30 gladiator and icebug, 35 Zoraptera, 150 snakefly, 200 silverfish, 300 alderfly, 300 webspinner, 350 jumping bristletail, 550 scorpionfly, 600 Strepsiptera, 1,200 caddisfly, 1,700 stonefly, 1,800 earwig, 2,000 flea, 2,200 mantis, 2,500 mayfly, 3,000 louse, 3,000 walking stick, 4,000 cockroach, 4,000 lacewing, 4,000 termite, 5,000 dragonfly, 5,000 thrips, 5,500 booklouse, 20,000 cricket, grasshopper, and locust, 82,000 true bug, 110,000 ant, bee, sawfly, and wasp, 120,000 true fly, 170,000 butterfly and moth, and 360,000 beetle species described to date. The number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million, with over a million species already described. Insects represent more than half of all known living organisms and potentially represent over 90% of the differing life forms on Earth. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species occur in the oceans, a habitat dominated by another arthropod group, the crustaceans.
Adult modern insects range in size from a 0.139 mm (0.00547 in) fairyfly (Dicopomorpha echmepterygis) to a 56.7-centimetre (22.3 in) long stick insect (Phobaeticus chani). The heaviest documented present-day insect was 70 g (2½ oz) Giant Weta, though the Goliath beetles Goliathus goliatus, Goliathus regius and Cerambycid beetles such as Titanus giganteus hold the title for some of the largest species in general.
The largest known extinct insect is a kind of dragonfly, Meganeura.
For more information about Insect, read the full article at
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News tagged with insects
What is the meaning of 'one'? Evolutionary biologists argue for new meaning of 'organismality'
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Rice University evolutionary biologists David Queller and Joan Strassmann argue in a new paper that high cooperation and low conflict between components, from the genetic level on up, give a living thing its "organismality," ...
Mom was right: Why nice guys usually get the girls
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Female water striders often reject their most persistent and aggressive suitors and prefer the males who aren't so grabby, according to new research. Water striders are insects commonly seen ...
Spying on Corn Rootworm Predators Nightlife
Oct 31, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Jonathan G. Lundgren, while exploring corn fields at night, has found a very different group of predators than the ones that feed during the ...
Ancient 'monster' insect offers Halloween inspiration
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Just in time for Halloween, researchers have announced the discovery of a new, real-world "monster" - what they are calling a "unicorn" fly that lived about 100 million years ago and is being described as ...
Hearing on the wing: New structure discovered in butterfly ears
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A clever structure in the ear of a tropical butterfly that potentially makes it able to distinguish between high and low pitch sounds has been discovered by scientists from the University ...
Giving cockroaches the slip (w/ Video)
Oct 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A breakthrough by scientists at Cambridge University may terminate the threat of termites, cockroaches and other pests such as ants and locusts - responsible for billions of pounds worth of ...
Beneficial Nocturnal Insects Help Combat Pests in Texas
Oct 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Texas are staying up late to search for beneficial insects that feed on crops pest eggs at night.
Homebound Termites Answer 150-Year-Old Evolution Question
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Staying at home may have given the very first termite youngsters the best opportunity to rule the colony when their parents were killed by their neighbors. This is according to new research ...
To flap, or not to flap? Flapping wings can be more efficient than fixed wings, study shows
Sep 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- According to a new Cornell study, an optimized flapping wing could actually require 27 percent less power than its optimal steady-flight counterpart at small scales.
Gulf fritillary is back
Sep 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A showy butterfly with bright orange-red wings and a 4-inch wingspan is back in the Sacramento metropolitan area after a four-decade absence and in the Davis area after 30 years.
Cockroaches Control Their Breathing to Save Water
Sep 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Many insects have been known for decades to hold their breath when resting, but the reasons have not been well understood. A new study on cockroaches suggests the insects reduce their breathing ...
Scientists discover how to send insects off the scent of crops
Sep 24, 2009 |
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Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded research, published this week in Chemical Communications, describes how scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to det ...
Female monarch butterflies on 30-year decline in eastern North America
Sep 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Female monarch butterflies in eastern North America have significantly declined over the past 30 years, a new study by a University of Georgia researcher reveals.
Pesky fruit flies learn from experienced females: Study
Sep 16, 2009 |
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A common household nuisance, the fruit fly, is capable of intricate social learning much like that used by humans, according to new research from McMaster University.
Tiny Bacteria Secret to Cicada's Success
Sep 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- John McCutcheon remembers the song of the cicada - the loudest song in the insect world - as the sound track to countless summer hours spent playing outside his childhood home in Rockford, ...
