The study of insects known as entomology encompasses the collection, observation, rearing, experimentation with, and up-close examination of insects. Entomologists investigate and scrutinize facets of insect life, ranging from insect behavior, anatomy and physiology to insect evolution and more.
Research findings reveal that insects are found in every corner of the world—from the Arctic to torrid desert areas to our planet's dense tropical regions. Their short life cycles—coupled with their small size and overall physiological make-up as compared to other members of the kingdom animalia—render them quite adaptable. Although people throughout the world experience that myriad insects reside on planet Earth (approximately more than one million), because of the enormity and diversity of the species, the exact number of insects that exist on our planet is unknown.
2
Insects can be aquatic, aerial, terrestrial—living in or on land, on or beneath water, and/or on or beneath the soil throughout their entire existence. Insects may be loners, communal, and/or socially interactive. They can be beneficial or deleterious to other living things: this particularly holds true in the areas of agriculture and human health. Regarding their physical characteristics, their body parts are more intricately designed than meets the general "head-thorax-abdomen-six legs-and-exoskeleton" description.
