Insects
When people talk about “insects,” they often mean pests or disease carriers such as bedbugs, houseflies, beetles, mosquitoes, fleas, and hornets. To be fair, though, many insects are beneficial to humans, albeit sometimes indirectly: they pollinate plants, produce useful substances, control pest insects, act as scavengers, and serve as food for other animals. Some insects, such as butterflies, are beautiful to behold, and insects such as ladybugs flaunt eye-catching colors and patterns.
Insects Encyclopedia Articles
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walking stick
Walking stick, (order Phasmida, or Phasmatodea), any of about 3,000 species of slow-moving insects that are green or brown in color and bear a resemblance to twigs as a protective device. Walking sticks...
mantid
Mantid, (family Mantidae), any of approximately 2,000 species of large, slow-moving insects that are characterized by front legs with enlarged femurs (upper portion) that have a groove lined with spines...
coleopteran
Coleopteran, (order Coleoptera), any member of the insect order Coleoptera, consisting of the beetles and weevils. It is the largest order of insects, representing about 40 percent of the known insect...
tsetse fly
Tsetse fly, (genus Glossina), any of about two to three dozen species of bloodsucking flies in the housefly family, Muscidae (order Diptera), that occur only in Africa and transmit sleeping sickness (African...
backswimmer
Backswimmer, (family Notonectidae), any of a group of insects (order Heteroptera) that occur worldwide and are named for their ability to swim on their backs, which are shaped like the keel and sides of...
termite
Termite, (order Isoptera), any of a group of cellulose-eating insects, the social system of which shows remarkable parallels with those of ants and bees, although it has evolved independently. Even though...
butterfly
Butterfly, (superfamily Papilionoidea), any of numerous species of insects belonging to multiple families. Butterflies, along with the moths and the skippers, make up the insect order Lepidoptera. Butterflies...
fly
Fly, (order Diptera), any of a large number of insects characterized by the use of only one pair of wings for flight and the reduction of the second pair of wings to knobs (called halteres) used for balance....
monarch butterfly
Monarch butterfly, (Danaus plexippus), familiar member of the milkweed butterfly group (subfamily Danainae, order Lepidoptera) known for its large size, its orange and black wings, and its long annual...
ant
Ant, (family Formicidae), any of approximately 10,000 species of insects that are social in habit and live together in organized colonies. Ants occur worldwide but are most numerous, both in numbers and...
scarab beetle
Scarab beetle, (family Scarabaeidae), any of approximately 30,000 species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) that are compact and heavy-bodied insects with robustly oval outlines. They are distinguished...
bee
Bee, (superfamily Apoidea), any of more than 20,000 species of insects in the suborder Apocrita (order Hymenoptera), including the familiar honeybee (Apis) and bumblebee (Bombus) as well as thousands more...
