All About Insects

The most diverse group of animals on the planet, insects are generally classified as any of numerous invertebrate animals that are a member of the phylum Arthropoda, and of the class Insecta.

Modern insects range in size from less than a millimeter to over 18 centimeters in size. An insect’s adult body in characterized by three pairs of legs and a body segmented into a head, thorax, and abdomen, and usually two pairs of wings. Virtually all insects are born from an egg laid by their mother. Some of the most common and well known insect species include flies, crickets, mosquitoes, beetles, butterflies, and bees.

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 that have been discovered to this date, for a total of more than 925,000 species. It is estimated that there could be as many as 15-30 million species of insects that have yet to be discovered by science. The scientific study of insects is also known as entomology.

For more insect information, including information on insect anatomy, household insects and insect identification, simply click on any insect article, insect picture, or other interactive insect feature below.