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19 December 2009
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What is an insect?

Beetle	Woodlouse	Butterfly	Centipede	Slug

Dragonfly	Earwig	Ant	Spider	Wasp

The simplest way to identify an insect is to count its legs. All insects have six at some point in their life cycle, usually as adults. Centipedes have only one pair of legs on each of their segments (unlike millipedes) and belong to a group of animals called chilopoda. Woodlice are isopods. They have 14 legs and, like crabs and lobsters, are members of the crustacean family. Slugs and snails have no legs at all. They are gastropods and move along on a slimy foot. Spiders have eight legs and are arachnids, another completely separate group.

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