What makes an insect an insect? Are they the same as bugs? Can insects see, hear, breathe, smell, and communicate with one another?
There are so many different kinds of insects on Earth. No other creature is so varied. Even so, they all share certain features. As adults, their bodies have three segments, or parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. Compare that to spiders, which have just two main body parts: a cephalothorax and an abdomen. In ticks and mites, the head, thorax, and abdomen are all in one part. There are two compound eyes and two antennae, or “feelers,” on insects’ heads. The thorax is where the legs and wings attach. Adult insects have three pairs of legs. Most have two pairs of wings. Many organisms are similar and even related, such as spiders, scorpions, and millipedes. But none have all the same traits that insects share.