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.
insect, (class Insecta or Hexapoda), any member of the largest class of the phylum Arthropoda, which is itself the largest of the animal phyla. Insects have segmented bodies, jointed legs, and external skeletons (exoskeletons).
Insects are six-legged invertebrates that are members of the class Insecta within the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their three-part bodies covered by a hard, chitinous exoskeleton.
All insects belong to the phylum Arthropoda. But unlike other arthropods—like lobsters, spiders, or millipedes—insects have three pairs of jointed legs, segmented bodies, an exoskeleton, one...
Almost every known species of insect hatches from an egg. For insects, fertilization and development occur inside the egg, and the eggs of most species are specially designed to withstand harsh weather conditions such as droughts.
Six legs, three body parts (HEAD, THORAX, and ABDOMEN), a hard EXOSKELETON, and compound eyes characterize insects. Most insects have a pair of antennae and two pairs of wings. Insects grow by MOLTING, shedding their old exoskeleton, and growing a new, roomier one.
More than half of all the animal species described by science are insects, and it is estimated that there are more than five million extant species. That’s a lot of beetles, butterflies, moths, ants, bees, wasps, flies, termites, crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, mantids, dragonflies and earwigs, to name just some of the more familiar ones.
Insects help us by pollinating our food crops, decomposing organic matter, providing researchers with clues to a cancer cure, and even solving crimes. They can also harm us by spreading diseases and damaging plants and structures. Insects are arthropods.