BUGS AND INSECTS

 

BUGS AND INSECTS

 

Brought to you by Gus and Gia Puppet Show

The term bug and insect are often used interchangeably.  A bug is type of insect with a mouth shaped similarly to a straw.  To fully clarify, all true bugs are also insects, however not every insect is also a true bug.

True to their defined physical characteristics, bugs like the Aphids or Spittlebugs, will utilize this strong mouth part in order to pierce plants.  This allows them to drink the plant's sap, or other juices.  Other bugs, like some of the Shield Bugs and Water Striders use the same mouth part to consume a variety of spiders, insects and other smaller animals.

Insects have three main body parts which include the head and then the thorax (comprising the middle part) and finally the abdomen, which is the end part.  On the head of the insect, one will find the antennas, eyes and mouth parts.  Many species that are in the adult stage have two types of eyes with one type being simple and the other is compound.  Interestingly, compound eyes are equipped with many lenslike parts, and each of these amazingly receives a separate image.  Those images are then combined into one single picture inside the brain of the insect.

The abdomen also has some interesting characteristics.  It can be made up of as many as eleven segments.  This portion of the insect has some specific functions.  Inside, it contains organs that are responsible for food digestion, removing waste and helping the insect to reproduce.

Their size varies.  Typically insects will be rather small with the normal size being less than six millimeters in length.  Surprisingly, one insect called Walkingsticks can have a tremendous size difference compared to that of the average insect.  They can grow to greater than twelve inches in length.

They are also called arthropods.  These small creatures have an amazing million different species, and scientists continue discovering more insects with each day.

Insects are called invertebrates as they do not have bones, or even a backbone, like those found on humans.  A shell, or exoskeleton, can be found on the outside of their bodies which offers them protection.  They have two antennae and are also equipped with six legs.  Every insect hatches from eggs with the babies being called larva.

Additionally, all insects and bugs progress through life with the same life cycle.  At the beginning of their life, they start as an egg.  The egg then hatches and out come the larva.  When it is at this stage, the larvae typically do not look like the adult insect.  The larvae then enter a chrysalis, pupa, or cocoon.  From the pupa, the adult insect then emerges.

Insects actually make up the largest group of animals with insects comprising nearly seventy-five percent of animals.  The earth was inhabited by insects long before the human ever roamed the Earth.  Because they reside all over the world, their survival is truly contingent on a source of food.  If food is available, insects can live there.  Whether the region is cold, moist rain forests, mountains, deserts, in caves, or freshwater, insects can survive.  Some kinds of insects can even be found in salt water.

Protection is a concern and insects are equipped with a number of ways to keep them safe from their enemies.  One way is the insect will blend in to their surrounding.  Moths, for example, have coloring that is similar to that of the bark found on the trees where they rest.  Beetles possess a tough exterior, or body armor, to offer them protection.  And some insects will sting or bite their enemies with a portion of them also producing poison.

The insects either live solo or among a group.  Some bees and wasps, termites and ants live in groups that are quite organized.  Each member of this group has specific jobs to do in order to benefit the whole group.  In the termite family, for instance, some termites were made to be workers or soldiers while other termites will wear the title of king and queen.

See article on Dinosaurs here.

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