Why Insects Are Incredible
Insects are the most successful group of animals on Earth! They've been around for over 400 million years and have adapted to live in almost every environment on our planet.
Meet the Insect Families
Butterflies & Moths
Lepidoptera
- 🌟 Beautiful wing patterns
- 🌟 Complete metamorphosis
- 🌟 Taste with their feet
- 🌟 180,000+ species worldwide
Bees & Wasps
Hymenoptera
- 🌟 Super social colonies
- 🌟 Amazing architects
- 🌟 Pollination heroes
- 🌟 Can see ultraviolet light
Beetles
Coleoptera
- 🌟 Hardest working recyclers
- 🌟 Incredible strength
- 🌟 Amazing variety
- 🌟 400,000+ species
Grasshoppers & Crickets
Orthoptera
- 🌟 Musical maestros
- 🌟 Incredible jumpers
- 🌟 Ears on their legs
- 🌟 Temperature thermometers
Ants
Formicidae
- 🌟 Ultimate team players
- 🌟 Master builders
- 🌟 Chemical communicators
- 🌟 Farmers and gardeners
Flies & Mosquitoes
Diptera
- 🌟 Incredible flying skills
- 🌟 Super sensors
- 🌟 Important decomposers
- 🌟 Lightning-fast reflexes
Insect Superpowers
Super Strength
Leafcutter ants can carry leaf pieces 50 times their body weight. That's like you carrying a car!
Super Vision
Dragonflies have 30,000 lenses in each eye and can see in almost 360 degrees!
Temperature Control
Bees can heat their flight muscles to warm up the hive and cool it down by fanning their wings!
Perfect Navigation
Desert ants can travel thousands of steps away from home and find their way back perfectly!
How Insects Help Our World
Pollination
Bees, butterflies, and other insects pollinate 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat!
Recycling
Insects decompose dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil.
Pest Control
Predatory insects eat billions of harmful pests that would otherwise damage crops.
Medicine
Many medicines come from insects, including antibiotics and painkillers!
Want to Learn More?
Explore our other sections to discover more amazing facts!