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Bugs (Insects) Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Back to Animals The scientific name for what most of us consider bugs is arthropods. Arthropods include insects, spiders (called Arachnids), and crustaceans. Crustaceans don't usually count as "bugs". These include crabs, lobster, and shrimp. An arthropod is defined as an animal having a hard exoskeleton with joints and paired jointed legs. There are more types of insects than any other type of animal on the planet. The main categories of insects are butterflies, moths, beetles, centipedes, flies, grasshoppers, and social insects. Insects tend to be small, but can vary in size from nearly invisible to over 7 inches long. The hard external covering of insects is made of something called chitin. The body is made up of sections called the head, the thorax, and abdomen. All insects will have a pair of antennae on their head an six legs connected to the thorax (arachnids will have eight legs). Some insects have wings connected to the thorax and can fly. Insects are born from eggs. Young insects are called nymphs. As insects grow they get a new hard outer covering by getting rid of the old covering and growing a new one. This process is called molting. Social insects live in large groups and work together to survive and build their homes. Some examples are bees, ants, wasps, and termites. The study of insects is called entomology. Fun Facts About Insects In a typical 1 square mile of forest or jungle, there are more insects than there are people on the entire planet. Mosquitoes are attracted to blondes more than brunettes and children more than adults. Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating. Some anteaters will eat up to 30,000 ants a day. The average life span of a house fly is about 14 days. For more about insects: Praying Mantis - The giant insect predator. Butterfly - Beautiful flying insect. Black Widow Spider - Learn about this poisonous arachnid. Yellow Jacket Wasp - Learn about this flying stinging insect. Insect - Encyclopedia Junior - All sorts of info on Insects for kids. Back to Animals

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