Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Between 950,000–1,000,000 of all described animal species are considered insects, so over 50% of all described eukaryotes (1.8 million species) are insects (see illustration). With only 950,000 known non-insects, if the actual total number of insects is 5.5 million, they may represent over 80% of the total, and with only about 20,000 new ...
Species evenness is the relative number of individuals of each species in a given area. [181] Species richness [182] is the number of species present in a given area. Species diversity [183] is the relationship between species evenness and species richness. There are many ways to measure biodiversity within a given ecosystem.
In the earliest known antagonistic relationships with plants, insects consume plant pollen and spores. [6] Since 300 million years ago, insects have been known to consume nectar and pollinate flowers. In the Mesozoic, between 200 and 150 million years ago, insects' feeding patterns started to diversify. [7]
Insects often compete with each other for resources such as food, territory, and mates. Competition can occur within species (intraspecific) or between species (interspecific). This competition can lead to adaptations and niche differentiation, where species evolve to occupy different ecological niches to minimize competition.
In contrast, a large majority of the insect species of the tropics and the southern hemisphere are probably undescribed. [11] Some 30–40,000 species inhabit freshwater; very few insects, perhaps a hundred species, are marine. [12] Insects such as snow scorpionflies flourish in cold habitats including the Arctic and at high altitude. [13]
The hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. A genus contains one or more species. Minor intermediate ranks are not shown. A species (pl.: species) is a population of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. [1]
The first report of the use of an insect species to control an insect pest comes from "Nanfang Caomu Zhuang" (南方草木狀 Plants of the Southern Regions) (c. 304 AD), attributed to Western Jin dynasty botanist Ji Han (嵇含, 263–307), in which it is mentioned that "Jiaozhi people sell ants and their nests attached to twigs looking like ...
In the past, the term insect was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. The field is also referred to as insectology in American English, while in British English insectology implies the study of the ...