Wrongly accused An insect is a small creature with three body parts (head, thorax and abdomen) and three pairs of legs. Many have wings. Most of them undergo complete changes of shape during their lifecycles. Take a look at our image of an insect. Several 'creepy-crawlies' common in the garden are wrongly known as insects: centipedes, millipedes, woodlice, spiders, scorpions, harvestmen, ticks and mites are all from the family Arthropoda. All insects are arthropods, but not all arthropods are insects. Interesting facts- All wasps die in winter, except the queen.
- Only bumblebees and honeybees live together in colonies. Most species of bees live on their own, some in holes in the ground.
- Grasshoppers sing by rubbing their hind legs against their front wings; crickets sing by rubbing their front wings together.
- Some plants eat insects! They do this by catching them and dissolving their bodies, then they absorb the juice. This gives them nitrogen, which normal plants get from the soil - but these plants live in places where there isn't any.
- The larva of the rare Death's Head Hawkmoth squeaks if it is touched.
- Most beetles can fly, but the ground beetles you may find in your soil have lost the ability to fly - they scuttle everywhere very fast instead.
- The Chilean red-leg spider can eat mice and birds. The funnel-web spider has fangs, which can pierce bone, and its bite can kill a person in two hours.
- The largest moth in the world is the Atlas Moth. It has a wingspan of 30cm (1ft) and is so big it is often mistaken for a bird!
- Caterpillars shed their skin four or five times before they turn into chrysalises. Have a look at our Home-grown project Be a caterpillar collector and see for yourself how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.
ActivityStand close to a flower in your garden and carefully watch the insects at work. If you're still, they won't even notice you - they are far too interested in the pollen and nectar to sting you! Become a bug collector by following our Home-grown project.
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