other insects library

 

There are many large groups of insects, but several don't fit into those easily separated categories. Read these articles to find out about all the other kinds of insects.

Featured Article:  How Termites Work

Termites have existed for 50 million years and can be found throughout the world. Learn about termites and find out how termite colonies are structured. See more »

How Cockroaches Work

How Cockroaches Work

Entomologists estimate that there are between 5 and 10 million species of insects on Earth. But if asked which insect they hate the most, many people would have no trouble choosing just one -- the cockroach.

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How Termites Work

How Termites Work

Termites have existed for 50 million years and can be found throughout the world. Learn about termites and find out how termite colonies are structured.

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Insect Quiz

Insect Quiz

When your stomach starts growling, do you ever yearn for toasted beetles or sauteed grubs? If those culinary selections turn your stomach, consider the fact that there are more than 1,400 edible insect species. Take the insect quiz for more creepy, crawly insect facts.

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Centipede

Centipede

Centipede, a small animal, related to the insects. It has a long, flattened body made up of segments.

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Cockroach

Cockroach

Cockroach, a common household insect pest. Fossil evidence indicates that cockroaches appeared more than 250 million years ago.

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Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Dragonfly, or Darning Needle, the name for an order of large, beneficial insects that feed on harmful insects such as gnats and mosquitoes.

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Flea

Flea

Flea, a tiny, wingless insect. It is a household and barnyard pest, and a parasite that carries disease.

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Louse

Louse

Louse, a name used to refer to a group of bloodsucking or biting insects. All are wingless parasites, living on the bodies of warmblooded animals.

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Mantis

Mantis

Mantis, or Mantid, also Praying Mantis, an insect related to the grasshopper and cricket.

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Millipede

Millipede

Millipede, a wormlike animal that is sometimes called "thousand-legged worm.". It resembles the centipede, to which it is distantly related.

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Termite

Termite

Termite, a small insect. Termites are sometimes called "white ants'' because of their slight resemblance to ants and because they live in colonies as ants do.

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Thrips

Thrips

Thrips, the common name of an order of very small insects. Thrips range in length from about 0.02 to 0.3 inch (0.5 to 8 mm) and are usually black.

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Walking Stick

Walking Stick

Walking Stick, an insect that resembles a twig. There are 2,000 species, most of which are found in the tropics.

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Ant Lion

Ant Lion, an insect whose larva preys chiefly on ants. The adult ant lion has a slender body from two inches (5 cm) to more than three inches (7.5 cm) long.

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Bird Louse

Bird Louse, a common name for several small, biting insects that are parasites on warm-blooded animals, particularly birds.

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Caddis Fly

Caddis Fly, a mothlike insect found near ponds and streams. There are 1,000 species in North America.

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Earwig

Earwig, a brown beetlelike insect with a pair of pincers at the tip of its abdomen.

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Jigger

Jigger, or Chigoe, a small tropical American flea. It is about 4/100 of an inch (1 mm) long.

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Leaf Insect

Leaf Insect, an insect with wings that resemble leaves in both color and shape. The wings also have veins resembling those of leaves, and in many species the legs look like twigs.

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Mayfly

Mayfly, a soft-bodied insect with transparent wings and two or three tail-like projections.

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