INSECTS
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For other uses, see Insect (disambiguation).
Insect
Temporal range: Carboniferous–
Present
PreꞒ
Pg
N
Insects have a three-part body:
head with large compound
eyes and antennae, a thorax with
three pairs of legs, and a
segmented abdomen. Many
groups also have two pairs of
wings.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Allotriocarida
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Linnaeus, 1758
Subgroups
Archaeognatha
Dicondylia
Zygentoma
Pterygota
Synonyms
Ectognatha
Entomida
Insects live in a world of motion. This leaf-footed bug climbs wind blown grass and
flies off.
Insects (from Latin insectum) are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They
are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have
a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs
of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Insects are the most diverse
group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more
than half of all animal species.
The insect nervous system consists of a brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects
reproduce by laying eggs. Insects breathe air through a system of paired
openings along their sides, connected to small tubes that take air directly to the
tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in
vessels, and some circulates in an open hemocoel. Insect vision is mainly through
their compound eyes, with additional small ocelli. Many insects can hear,
using tympanal organs, which may be on the legs or other parts of the body.
Their sense of smell is via receptors, usually on the antennae and the mouthparts.
Nearly all insects hatch from eggs. Insect growth is constrained by the inelastic
exoskeleton, so development involves a series of molts. The immature stages often
differ from the adults in structure, habit, and habitat. Groups that undergo four-stage
metamorphosis often have a nearly immobile pupa. Insects that undergo three-stage
metamorphosis lack a pupa, developing through a series of increasingly adult-
like nymphal stages. The higher level relationship of the insects is unclear. Fossilized
insects of enormous size have been found from the Paleozoic Era, including giant
dragonfly-like insects with wingspans of 55 to 70 cm (22 to 28 in). The most diverse
insect groups appear to have coevolved with flowering plants.
Adult insects typically move about by walking and flying; some can swim. Insects are
the only invertebrates that can achieve sustained powered flight; insect flight evolved
just once. Many insects are at least partly aquatic, and have larvae with gills; in
some species, the adults too are aquatic. Some species, such as water striders, can
walk on the surface of water. Insects are mostly solitary, but some, such
as bees, ants and termites, are social and live in large, well-organized colonies.
Others, such as earwigs, provide maternal care, guarding their eggs and young.
Insects can communicate with each other in a variety of ways. Male moths can
sense the pheromones of female moths over great distances. Other species
communicate with sounds: crickets stridulate, or rub their wings together, to attract a
mate and repel other males. Lampyrid beetles communicate with light.
Humans regard many insects as pests, especially those that damage crops, and
attempt to control them using insecticides and other techniques. Others are parasitic,
and may act as vectors of diseases. Insect pollinators are essential to the
reproduction of many flowering plants and so to their ecosystems. Many insects are
ecologically beneficial as predators of pest insects, while a few provide direct
economic benefit. Two species in particular are economically important and were
domesticated many centuries ago: silkworms for silk and honey bees for honey.
Insects are consumed as food in 80% of the world's nations, by people in roughly
3,000 ethnic groups. Human activities are having serious effects on insect
biodiversity.