This large Class of arthropods includes over 60,000 described species (and most likely a very large number of so-far undescribed ones). Spiders make up the majority of these (over 50,000 described species); with mites and ticks next largest (around 48,200 species). The Arachnida also includes a diverse array of smaller groups, including scorpions (1200 species), whip scorpions (100 species), palpigrades (60 species), pseudoscorpions (2000 species), solpugids (900 species), and harvestmen (5000 species). Nearly all species are terrestrial.

13 pictures, last one added on Jul 02, 2009

Most people tend to call anything with lots of legs a "bug." However, to an entomologist, a "bug" is one of the 35,000 or so species of the order Hemiptera. Hemiptera means "half wing" and refers to the fact that part of the first pair of wings is toughened and hard, while the rest of the first pair and the second pair are membranous (not true for Cicadas, which are sometimes included in order Homoptera)

15 pictures, last one added on Sep 04, 2008

Ephemeroptera is a group of 2,000 insect species commonly known as mayflies. Ephemeroptera are aquatic insects that often go through many nymph stages (living in water) and two flying stages (the subimago and the imago). They are the only insects to have two flying stages, and can be recognized by their three caudal filaments (tails) at the tip of the abdomen, and a single claw on each leg.

1 pictures, last one added on Nov 03, 2003

The two major types of insects in this group are the cockroaches (about 4000 species) and mantids (about 2000 species).

5 pictures, last one added on Jul 02, 2009

Stick and Leaf-insects as their name implies are a medium sized order of insects most of which look like sticks or leaves. There are around 2700 known species, most of which come from the tropics, though there are three New Zealand species currently living in England and about 20 European species.

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Orthoptera probably arose during the middle of the Carboniferous period. Most living members of this order are terrestrial herbivores with modified hind legs that are adapted for jumping. Slender, thickened front wings fold back over the abdomen to protect membranous, fan-shaped hind wings. Many species have the ability to make and detect sounds. Orthoptera is one of the largest and most important groups of plant-feeding insects. It has more than 20.000 species. The name Orthoptera is derived from "orthos" meaning "straight" and "pteron" = "wing."

12 pictures, last one added on Dec 13, 2005

The Diptera are commonly known as (true) flies and include many familiar insects such as mosquitoes, black flies, midges, fruit flies, blow flies and house flies. Flies are generally common and can be found all over the world except Antarctica. There are aroun 100.000 species identified.

5 pictures, last one added on Jan 13, 2006

Odonata are an order of aquatic palaeopterous insects. There are about 6500 extant species in just over 600 genera. Adult odonates are medium to large in size, often conspicuous and/or brightly colored insects and are aerial predators hunting by sight. They generally are found at or near fresh water although some species roam widely and may be found far from their breeding sites. The larvae are predatory, aquatic and occur in all manner of inland waters. To some extent the presence of odonates may be taken as an indicator of ecosystem quality.

2 pictures, last one added on Aug 22, 2004

The order Neuroptera includes the lacewings and antlions (suborder Planipennia), dobsonflies and alderflies (suborder Megaloptera) and snakeflies (suborder Raphidoidea). As adults, all neuropterans have two pairs of membranous wings with an extensive pattern of veins and crossveins. At rest, the wings are folded flat over the abdomen or held tent-like over the body. Most species are rather weak fliers.

1 pictures, last one added on Aug 22, 2004

The name means "scale wing," and lepidopteran wings are covered with microscopic scales, which are iridescent and brightly colored. Primitive lepidopterans retain functional chewing mouthparts as adults, but more derived ones have partially or completely lost the mandibles and developed a long proboscis for drinking nectar from flowers. The order comprises more than 160,000 species.

194 pictures, last one added on Sep 04, 2008

Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. The name comes from the membranous wings (Greek hymen, a membrane), of which most forms have two pairs, the front wings larger than the back.
The Hymenoptera with over 130 000 named species are a contender for the second largest order of insects in the world, the Beetles (Coleoptera) boast a the greatest number of species.

9 pictures, last one added on Sep 27, 2006

It has been estimated that half of all animal species alive today are beetles; using a conservative estimate of the number of animal species, there would be at least three million beetle species on the Earth.
Coleoptera means "sheathed wing"; beetles have two pairs of wings, but the first pair has been enlarged and thickened into a pair of hard sheaths, or elytra, that cover the delicate hind wings.

15 pictures, last one added on Jan 30, 2008

Approximately 30,000 species make up this Subphylum. Most are aquatic; of these, the majority are marine but some are found in fresh water. Members of the Subphylum include lobsters, crabs, crayfish, shrimp, copepods, barnacles, and several other groups of organisms. All have two pairs of antennae, a pair of mandibles, a pair of compound eyes (usually on stalks), and two pair of maxillae on their heads.

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One of the largest phyla comprising more than 50,000 living mollusk species. Mollusks are soft-bodied, and most have a prominent shell. The members of this highly successful and diverse phylum are mostly aquatic and include the familiar scallop, clam, oyster, mussel, snail, slug, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, chiton, and a variety of others.

12 pictures, last one added on Sep 04, 2008