What is an insect?
Insects are a special group of arthropods. All insects share several, easily-recognizable external characteristics including:
- Three body segments
(head, thorax, and abdomen) - Three pairs of jointed legs,
all of which are attached to the thorax - Antennae (although there are a few species of insects with no antennae)
- Wings (though there are some flightless insects)
The figure below demonstrates some of these characteristics of insects.
