show/hide words to know
Entomologist: name for scientist who studies insects.
Proboscis: a long mouth part found in most insects and some other animals used to suck up food.
How Are Insects Different?
There are many types of insects that can be different in many ways. Some insects have different body parts like a proboscis that is used for feeding or stingers that are used for protection. There are insects that can fly and others that can swim.
Examples of insect proboscises - True bug (A), Ant (B) and Honeybee (C).
Time lapse video of a cicada finishing metamorphosis. Video by Dennis McDaniel.
One way in which insects can be different is by the type of life cycles they have. Some insects will undergo an incomplete metamorphosis and will change from a nymph to an adult.
There are other insects that will go through a complete metamorphosis that has many stages. These insects will start as larvae, which look very different from adults. When they emerge from their pupa, they will be newly formed adults. It is no surprise that entomologists enjoy studying the fascinating world of insects.
Additional images via Wikimedia Commons. Green Hairstreak egg by Gilles San Martin.
View Citation
Bibliographic details:
- Article: How Are Insects Different?
- Author(s): Page Baluch
- Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
- Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
- Date published: May 30, 2011
- Date accessed: January 12, 2025
- Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/how-are-insects-different
APA Style
Page Baluch. (2011, May 30). How Are Insects Different?. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved January 12, 2025 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/how-are-insects-different
Chicago Manual of Style
Page Baluch. "How Are Insects Different?". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 30 May, 2011. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/how-are-insects-different
Page Baluch. "How Are Insects Different?". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 30 May 2011. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 12 Jan 2025. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/how-are-insects-different
MLA 2017 Style
Almost all insects begin their lives as eggs, like this egg laid by a Green Hairstreak butterfly.
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