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Narrative
Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000. (Recent estimates place the number of worldwide species at four to six million.)
Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.
Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.
The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:
Odonata: - Dragon and Damsel Flies
Orthoptera: - Grasshoppers and Mantids
Homoptera: - Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
Diptera: - Flies and Mosquitoes
Hymenoptera: - Ants, Wasps, and Bees
Lepidoptera: - Butterflies and Moths
Coleoptera: - Beetles
Taxonomy
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Latin
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English
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Kingdom
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Animalia
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Animal
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Phylum
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Arthropoda
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Jointed Legged Animals
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Class
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Insecta
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Insects
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Order
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Family
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SubFamily
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References
| Title | Author | Comments |
| The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Insects | Stanek, V.J. | This 543 page book covers the various orders and families of insects. Many interesting and exotic species are pictured, and many of the pictures are in color. This is a very fine book. |
| Insects of Hong Kong | Hill, D.S. | This 500 poage black and white book gives a good overview of the insects of Hong Kong, China. Wiht many line drawings and some photographs, one should be able to identify the common dragonflies, grasshopper, butterflies, and moths of the area. |
| Insects of the World | Linsenmaier, Walter | This large format 390 page book is an excellent overview of the beautiful and interesting insects of the world. With lots of color and text, this book can serve as an excellent introduction to the fascinating world of insects. |
| A Field Guide to the Insects | Borror, Donald J. | This book provides an excellent overview of the insects of America north of Mexico. Butterflies, moths, beetles, and other orders of insects are covered. |
| Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida - Volume IV Invertebrates | Deyrup, Mark | This detailed work covers the mollusks and arthropods of Florida that are rare or endangered. Each species is described along with its range and habitat. Detailed disribution maps are also included. Almost 800 pages of detailed information make this a truly excellent work. |
| Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Northeastern North America | Peckarsky, Barbara | This work serves as an excellent overview of the aquatic insects of north east North America. Also crustacea and Mollusks are included. They keys are useful for identification purposes. |
| Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders | Milne, Lorus and Margery | The 702 color illustrations of living specimens are excellent. Spiders, scorpions, and Insects are covered. With a good coverage of arthropods, this book should be in any library that is used for identification. The text also mentions related species. |
| Larousse Encyclopedia of the Animal World | Various | This 640 page book covers the phyla in the animal kingdom, including a good survey of sponges, coelenterates, worms, misc. phyla, arthropods and chordates. With numerous pictures and diagrams, this work gives a good understanding of the taxonomy of the animal kingdom. The first half of the book covers the lower phyla, and the last half concentrates on the chordates. Numerous important species are described and pictured. |
| Fresh Water Invertebrates of the United States | Pennak, Robert W | This excellent reference covers numerous phylla from protozoa to mollusca found in fresh water in the United States. |
| Endangered Ones, The | Cox, James A. | A detailed analyses as of l975 of the various animals facing extinction. 220 pages of excellent information. |
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