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Insects are probably the most important and the most numerous life form on the planet in terms of number of species. There are about one million different types of insects and many more that have not been discovered yet. The Insects are divided into number of Orders. These are grouped together into two sub–classes called:- - The Apterygota (wingless insects) - The Pterygota (winged insects) Insects are arthropods (animals with segmented bodies and six jointed legs). Their segmented body is divided into three parts – head, thorax and abdomen. Insects are a type of invertebrate – animals without a backbone. They have compound eyes and two antennae. The legs (and wings, if applicable) are attached to the thorax. Insects breathe through holes called spiracles. Insects hatch from eggs and can follow 1 of 2 routes, complete metamorphosis or incomplete metamorphosis. The first being adult, egg, larvae, pupa to adult and the second being adult, egg, to a miniature version of the adult. The classification of an insect as a pest is a subjective one, based on its potential damage to human purposes. Pest insects can damage harvested food, cause different types of diseases on humans, unproductivity or disease in agricultural animals, allergies or it can be frustrating and embarrassing having them around the house. For example the Flea (Chenopsylla cheopsis); It had a very bad effect on human history, spreading the Black Death (also known as the Bubonic Plague) when it travelled in the ships from Africa across Europe (during Middle Ages). It took four hundred years for European population to recover from the effects of the Black Death. The illness is now known to be caused by the bacterium Yersinia Pestis, which was carried by the flea, which in turn was carried by the black rat on ships. |
| Fleas. |
| Bed Bugs. |
| Ants. |
| Wasps. |