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
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with insects
Scientists discover aggression-promoting pheromone in flies (w/ Video)
Dec 06, 2009 |
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Have you ever found yourself struggling to get your order taken at a crowded bar or lunch counter, only to walk away in disgust as more aggressive customers elbow their way to the front? It turns out that ...
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," ...
Researchers discover how a brain hormone controls insect metamorphosis
Dec 03, 2009 |
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A team of University of Minnesota researchers have discovered how PTTH, a hormone produced by the brain, controls the metamorphosis of juvenile insects into adults.
Whiteflies sabotage alarm system of plant in distress
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When spider mites attack a bean plant, the plant responds by producing odours which attract predatory mites. These predatory mites then exterminate the spider mite population, thus acting ...
Variable Temperatures Leave Insects wtih a Frosty Reception
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, scientists at The University of Western Ontario have shown that insects exposed to repeated periods of cold will trade reproduction for immediate survival.
Ice Cold: Cooler Than Being Cool
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Water expands when it freezes. Anyone who has ever left a can of soda or bottle of water in the freezer too long has witnessed this first hand. So how do plants and animals survive severe ...
Termite creates sustainable monoculture fungus-farming
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the same practice. Our societies took just ...
Immunity-Related Genes in Leafcutting Bee Uncovered
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The first analysis of immunity-related genes in a solitary bee has been conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators.
Spider secrets decoded in world-first database
Nov 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Queensland scientists have developed a world-first database that catalogues the venom components from hundreds of spiders.
ARS Survey Helps Growers Track Two Key Cotton Pests
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Cotton growers will be better able to keep an eye out for two common pests because of a comprehensive survey by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at College Station, Texas.
Insect resistance to Bt crops can be predicted, monitored and managed
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Since 1996, crop plants genetically modified to produce bacterial proteins that are toxic to certain insects, yet safe for people, have been planted on more than 200 million hectares worldwide. The popularity of these Bt ...
