Expert: Walter Hintz - 8/1/2006

Question
Why are insects so diverse? How many species of them do we find on earth? what are the kinds of insects that biologists have already classified? Which of these kinds is the most diverse? What are their main characteristics?

Answer
Hi hiram
Diversity occurs among living things because that is the way evolution operates.  Life is opportunistic. All niches must be filled.  The niche of an organism is its environment and how it is interacting with the environment. Think about diversity among ants. Some ants are farmers. Some are scavengers and predators.  Some do not even work but capture other ants and make slaves of them.  Why are these niches filled? Because they can be. If there is blood to be sucked then something will be there to suck it. Doesn't make a lot of sense does it?
How mant species of insects are there? Close to a million recognized but this is just a drop in the bucket.
 The greatest diversity occurs in beetles
 All insects have 6 pair of legs, 1 pair of antenna and three body parts.