Insects are the most numerous animals on Earth . Scientists have already named over one million different kinds , and many more are still waiting to be discovered . Every single insect , from a tiny ant to a giant beetle , follows the same body plan : six legs , three body sections , and a hard outer covering instead of bones on the inside .
An insect's three body sections each have a job. The head carries the eyes , mouth , and two antennae for smelling and feeling . The middle section , the thorax , is where the six legs and any wings attach . The back section , the abdomen , holds the parts for digesting food and laying eggs . Because their skeleton is on the outside , it is called an exoskeleton — like a suit of armour .
📷 Stanislav Stelmakhovich · CC0✨ There are more ants on Earth than humans — scientists estimate around 20 quadrillion (that's 20,000,000,000,000,000)!
🔗 Match each insect body part to its job.
A hard covering on the outside Digests food and lays eggs Where the legs and wings attach Holds eyes, mouth, and antennae
A hard covering on the outside Digests food and lays eggs Where the legs and wings attach Holds eyes, mouth, and antennae
A hard covering on the outside Digests food and lays eggs Where the legs and wings attach Holds eyes, mouth, and antennae
A hard covering on the outside Digests food and lays eggs Where the legs and wings attach Holds eyes, mouth, and antennae
"Minibeasts " is a friendly name for all the small creatures without a backbone that you might find in a garden . Animals without a backbone are called invertebrates . Spiders , worms , snails , centipedes , and woodlice are all minibeasts , but they are NOT insects — a spider has eight legs , a centipede has dozens , and a worm has none at all.
📷 Sumandas1998rik · CC BY-SA 4.0🗂️ Sort each minibeast: insect (6 legs) or not an insect?
Insect Not an insect
Insect Not an insect
Insect Not an insect
Insect Not an insect
Insect Not an insect
Insect Not an insect
💡 Bees are incredibly important pollinators . As they visit flowers to collect nectar , they carry pollen from flower to flower , helping plants make seeds and fruit .
Many insects change shape completely as they grow , in a process called complete metamorphosis : egg, then larva (a caterpillar or grub ), then pupa , then adult . Inside the pupa the insect's body is broken down and rebuilt into a totally new form . This is why a wriggling caterpillar can turn into a winged butterfly — one of nature's most astonishing tricks .
📷 Natalka Ukraine · CC BY 4.0✨ A honeybee visits up to 1,500 flowers to make a single teaspoon of honey . A bee colony can make 27 kg of honey in a year .
🧩 Put the life cycle of a beetle in order.
Adult beetle emerges ? ⤒ ↑ ↓ ⤓
Pupa — body changes inside ? ⤒ ↑ ↓ ⤓
Grub (larva) hatches and eats ? ⤒ ↑ ↓ ⤓
Egg laid by adult beetle ? ⤒ ↑ ↓ ⤓
✍️ Fill in the insect facts.
Every insect has _____ legs and three body parts . Animals without a backbone , like spiders and worms , are called _____ .
six invertebrates eight vertebrates
