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Springtail

Springtail — Springtails (Order Collembola) form the largest of the three orders of modern hexapods that are no longer considered to be insects (along with the Protura and Diplura). The three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, but they do not appear to be more closely related to one another than …

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Stick Insect

Stick Insect — The Phasmatodea are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe), walking sticks (in the United States of America), ghost insects and leaf insects. The name is derived from the Greek “phasma” meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Some species …

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Tarantula

Tarantula — Tarantula is the common name for a group of “hairy” and often very large spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Tarantulas hunt prey in both trees and on the ground. All tarantulas can emit silk, whether they be arboreal or terrestrial species. Arboreal species will typically reside in a silken …

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Termite

Termite — Termites, sometimes known as white ants, are a group of social insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera. Termites usually prefer to feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, or soil, and about 10% of the 4,000 odd species (about 2,600 taxonomically known) are economically significant as pests that …

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Thrips

Thrips — Thrips (Order Thysanoptera) are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings (thus the scientific name, from the Greek thysanos (fringe) + pteron (wing)). Other common names for thrips include thunderflies, thunderbugs, storm flies and corn lice. Thrips species feed on a large variety of sources both plant and animal by puncturing them and sucking up the contents. A large …

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Wasp

Wasp — A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is not a bee or ant. The suborder Symphyta includes the sawflies and wood wasps, which differ from members of Apocrita by having a broader connection between the mesosoma and metasoma. In addition to this, Symphyta larvae are mostly herbivorous and “caterpillar like”, whereas those …

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Weevil

Weevil — A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than 6 mm (� inch), and herbivorous. Due to the shape of their heads, weevils are commonly known as snout beetles. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). Some other beetles, although not closely related, …

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Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis — The insect order Mantodea or mantises consists of approximatively 2,300 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats, of which a majority are in the family Mantidae. For most of the past century, only this single family was recognized within the order, and the term “mantid” was therefore historically used for any member of the order; technically, however, …

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