Insects

Insects are masters in many environments. They inhabit almost every kind of habitat, both terrestrial and aquatic. Their success is due largely to their ability to exploit an enormous variety of food resources: plants and plant juices, small animals, the blood of vertebrates, humus, etc. Both beneficial and harmful insects exist. Being the world's most important herbivores, a large number are crop pests, much dreaded by farmers. Some are vectors of diseases, such as malaria, dengue and filariasis. Nonetheless, insects play a vital role in the breakdown and recycling of dead vegetation and animal matter. They are the sole food of a wide range of vertebrates, and some are providers of silk, honey, wax, pharmaceutical substances, and even food for humans.

Insects are the most successful and probably the commonest of all living things on earth. About a million insect species have been recorded (about three-quarters of all animal species), but the actual number may be 2–4 million species. The number of insect species found in Malaysia is not known.

Here, only a small number of the many insect classes can be described. Among Malaysia's beautiful butterflies (about 1,000 species) and moths (about 10,000 species) are the largest moth in the world and also the butterfly considered by many to be the world's most beautiful. Also very attractive are the dragonflies and damselflies (about 250 species) which are always found not far from water as this is where their eggs are laid. The presence of dragonflies is also an indicator of the quality of the ecosystem.Malaysia has three types of bees—stingless bees, giant honeybees and hive bees—which all produce honey. However, while stingless bees nest in tree trunks, giant honeybees attach their hives to the branches of very tall trees. Thus, much effort is needed to obtain the honey from these bees. The related hymenopteran species of hornets and wasps are perhaps best known for their fierce stings. However, some wasp species act as biological control agents.

Ants and termites, groups of insects of similar structure but different orders, are found in both forests and homes. Many Malaysian ant species are known for their painful bites, while termites are destroyers of both agricultural crops and buildings.

Much less well known than many of the other insects are the fascinating leaf and stick insects of the rainforest. Their uncanny resemblance to leaves or sticks provides perfect camouflage from predators. Though many species of Malaysia's bugs are very attractive, most are not admired as they are plant pests; some cause enormous economic damage to agricultural crops. Similarly, weevils also destroy crops although some other beetles are beneficial as they devour other insect pests.

Both cicadas and crickets are best known for their songs, though these are produced in different ways. The close relative of the cricket, the grasshopper, is also familiar as a plant eater, but Malaysian species do not cause the serious economic damage known in some other countries.

Although not confined to dwellings, it is with houses that cockroaches, flies and mosquitoes are most often associated as this is where they are seen every day.

Here are some pictures about the insects in Malaysia.

Characteristics

Reproduction

Most insects hatch from eggs. In some insects, the young are called nymphs and are similar in form to the adult except that the wings are not developed until the adult stage. This is called incomplete metamorphosis. Some insects show complete metamorphosis which includes many of the most successful insect groups. In these species, an egg hatches to produce a larva, which is generally worm-like in form, and can be divided into five different forms; eruciform (caterpillar-like), scarabaeiform (grublike), campodeiform (elongated, flattened, and active), elateriform (wireworm-like) and vermiform (maggot-like). The larva grows and eventually becomes a pupa, a stage marked by reduced movement and often sealed within a cocoon.

Life Cycle of An Insect

More links about insects:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect