Insects are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth， with over a million described species more than half of all known living organisms with estimates of undescribed species as high as 30 million， thus potentially representing over 90% of the differing life forms on the Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet， although only a small number of species occur in the oceans， a habitat dominated by another arthropod group， the There are approximately 2，000 praying mantis， 5，000 dragonfly species， 20，000 grasshopper， 82，000 true bug， 120，000 fly， 110，000 bee， wasp and ant， 170，000 butterfly and moth， and 360，000 beetle species described to Estimates of the total number of current species， including those not yet known to science， range from two million to fifty million， with newer studies favouring a lower figure of about six to ten Adult modern insects range in size from a 139mm (00547 in) fairyfly (Dicopomorpha echmepterygis) to a 7centimetres (3in) long stick insect (phobaeticus chani) The heaviest documented insect was a Giant Weta of 70 g (5 oz)， but other possible candidates include the Goliath beetles Goliathus goliatus， Goliathus regius and Cerambycid beetles such as Titanus giganteus， though no one is certain which is truly the The study of insects (from Latin insectus， meaning "cut into sections") is called entomology， from the Greek， also meaning "cut into sections"
Lepidoptera Life Cycles The life cycle of Lepidoptera (butterflies， skippers， and moths) consists of four distinct stages: egg， larva (caterpillar)， pupa (chrysalis or cocoon) and The butterfly， skipper or moth begins life as a tiny Females lay their eggs on specific plants (called host plants or food plants) that serve as food for the next stage， the Within several days， a caterpillar (or larva) chews its way out of the Caterpillars spend their life eating - increasing their weight more thasn 3000 As it grows， the caterpillar molts， or sheds its exoskeleton， 4-5 After several weeks the caterpillar prepares to enter the pupal The butterflies attach themselves to a firm support， shed their exoskeleton and become a Moth and skipper caterpillars cover themselves with silk (forming a protective cocoon)， shed their exoskeleton and The chrysalis stage may last several weeks -- during which time the body of the caterpillar is broken down and slowly reformed into the body of an adult The pupae inside the cocoons of moths generally spend the winter in the cocoon before completing their transformation the following The new adult emerges from the chrysalis or cocoon with soft， wrinkled Fluid and blood from ther bosy are pumped intot he ， inflating them to their full After the wings inflate and harden (a process that generally takes several hours) the adult butterfly or moth is able to fly and begin its search for food and/or a
