Social Insects:
Insects vary greatly in size and shape. The smallest insects are the tiny fairy flies, which
are less than Ymo of an inch (0.025 mm) long and develop inside the eggs of other insects. The largest living insects are the stick insects,which may be 10 inches (25.4 cm) long, and the giant moths, which have a wingspan of 10 inches. Some insects, such as the walking stick, have greatly elongated bodies. Other insects, such as many of the beetles, have flattened and rounded bodies.Ants have an elaborate social structure, and they enjoy a longevity far greater than that of most insects. Queen ants have lived in captivity for as long as 20 years; workers, for nearly 10 years. The thousands of ant species that have been described by scientists far exceed the total number of all other existing social insects com¬bined, and the number of individual ants is greater than the total number of all other ter¬restrial animals.
See Also Number Insects Known:
INSECT, any of numerous small invertebrate ani¬mals that make up the class Insecta. There are nearly 1 million different species of insects, more than the combined number insects known of all other animal and plant species. On the North American continent alone there are more than 80,000 dif¬ferent species of insects. Insects are also the most widespread of all animals, inhabiting practically every type of environment, from the edges of frozen ice fields and glaciers to hot tropical forests. They in¬habit swamps, deserts, lakes, high mountaintops, and seashores. Many insects are carried high into the air, and one or two species are found in the open ocean. Some insects live in or on other animals, including other insects.Chemical pesticides, despite their great benefits, have their drawbacks. In some cases insecticides have become less potent because the insects developed resistance to their effects [2]. In other cases the insecticide has affected the animal enemies of the harmful insects with the result that the insects have actually multiplied in number insects known.
On The Other Hand See Metamorphosis Insects:
All insects, with the exception of the most primi¬tive forms, pass through several stages in their development from the egg to the adult. This is called metamorphosis insects, meaning to transform. If there are four stages, viz: egg, larva, pupa, adult, the metamorphosis insects is said to be complete. If but three stages occur, viz: egg, nymph, adult, the metamorphosis insects is said to be incomplete.The winged insects are divided into two groups with respect to their metamorphosis insects. In one group, called the Hemimetabola, the young that hatch from the egg appear similar to the adults but are smaller, sexually immature, and lack functional wings. In all of these insects, except for the mayflies, the wings do not develop until the final molt. This type of metamorphosis insects is sometimes called simple, or incomplete, meta¬morphosis, and the young are called nymphs.
