What are insects?
Background and origins
 Insects belong to the group of animals known as invertebrates, which means that they don't have vertebrae (a spinal cord) like a human or a cat does. We place insects in the phylus (family) of athropods.
Click on the graphic to enlarge.
 These all have a hard exoskeleton which is made up of plates and {Röhre}. The animal can move these plates thanks to to the fine tendons holding them together. A 'suit of amour' like this offers a combination of easy movement, protection and stability. When these knights of the animal kingdom grow, they can do so only within their shell. If they want to become physically bigger, they have to shed their skin, or in other words, grow themselves a new set of amour. Unlike vertebrates, whose muscles are attached to the outside of their skeleton, the mucsles of an invertebrate are fixed to the inside of their exoskeleton.
[Bilder Skelette] [Bild Rüstung] [Bilder Gelenke und Platten]
In the entire animal kingdom there are approximately 2 million species, of which abour 975000 belong to the phylus athropod. From these, we count some 90000 species as being insects. That's 80% of all known animal species on earth today!
Worldwide distribution
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Bee
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Insects can be found in almost all climatical regions on earth. That's hardly surprising, considering there all so many amazingly different types. This variety of form allows them to 'conquer' habitats in the mountain tops, in water, in the scorching Sahara desert and even in the air. The tropics offer the most variable habitats, and here you will find most species of insects.
We encounter insects constanly in our everyday lives. Sometimes we consider to be pests; the aphid and the {borken} beetle among others. However there are also insects which are useful for humans, for example bees which supply us with honey. |
