Insects

INSECTS

Created bySusan Pool 5/2006

Insects Can Fly!

• There are millions of insects. Some of them fly, and some do not.

They Are Everywhere!

• Did you know that there are many more kinds of insects on earth than any other kind of living creature? But 95% of all the animal species on the earth are insects! Millions of insects can exist in a single acre of land!

Lots of Beetles

• There are more beetles than any other kind of insect!

Insects Are Big Eaters!!•Insects eat more plants than all the other creatures on earth!

All Insects Must Have:

• three body parts - a head, thorax, and abdomen

• six jointed legs • two antennae to sense

the world around them • an exoskeleton

(outside skeleton)

Are Spiders Insects??

• If these things are not true then it is not an insect. A spider is not an insect because it has eight legs and doesn’t have three body parts!

Some Insects Can Fly

• Flying insects have either two or four wings.

• They have muscles in their wings that help them to fly fast or slow or to hover like a helicopter.

Too Many Legs???•Centipedes and millipedes are not insects because they have too many legs!!!

Life Cycles

• Many insects, such as the Butterfly and the Moth go through stages of growth. First as an egg, then as a larva (like a worm) then into a cocoon (pupa). Finally the new insect breaks out as an adult. It is then that the wings grow and the insect can fly.

Insects are Helpful

• Insects are directly useful to humans by producing honey, silk, wax, and other products. They also carry pollen from flower to flower.

Pests!!!

• Some insects are pests because they damage crops and they bite and cause pain to people.

• This is a tick. Ticks can be harmful.