Are Insects Animals? Understanding Insect Classification at a Glance

Insects are animals, and they are also the most numerous animal group on Earth, belonging to the arthropods within the invertebrates. As the most numerous animals, insects include some very special creatures. Let's take a look below.

Special Insects

1. The largest insect——the Atlas moth

The Atlas moth, found in Southeast Asia, is the largest moth in the world, with a wing area of 400 square cm and a wingspan of up to 30 cm. Although its body is “huge”, its life lasts only about one to two weeks. Typically, after the adult moths mate quickly, the female moth lays eggs, uses up the fat in its body, and then dies.

2. The heaviest insect——the rhinoceros beetle

The heaviest insect in the world is the giant rhinoceros beetle of tropical America, which can reach 155 mm from the tip of its head horn to the end of its abdomen and can be 100 mm wide, larger than the biggest goose egg. Its weight is about 100 grams, equivalent to the weight of two eggs. It can also be kept as an ornamental insect, and feeding it with humus, melons and fruits is usually enough.

3. The smallest insect——the fairyfly

The smallest and lightest insect in the world is a type of fairyfly in the family Mymaridae of the order Hymenoptera, with a body length of only 0.21 mm, and its weight is also extremely light, only 0.005 mg. By conversion, 200,000 of them weigh only 1 gram, and 10 million of them weigh as much as one egg.

As the most numerous animals on Earth, insects have a very close relationship with humans, and insects are also very important to humans.