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Insects are one Class within the Phylum Arthropoda

The term "bug" today may mean any of many things, depending upon the intention of the person who is using the term and such person's sophistication with terminology. To many people a "bug" is anything small with more than four legs which is nasty.

• To an epidemiologist, a "bug" is slang for a virus, bacteria or other form of pathogen which makes folks sick.
• To an investigator or police a "bug" is an electronic device on a phone or other place to surreptiously listen to a prospective felon.
• To some folks, spiders, centipedes, millipeds and other many legged invertebrates are things they call a 'bug'.
• To some folks who may consider themselves more knowledgeable about natural science, but not experts, the term "bug" may just mean any six-legged thing which is an insect. This is closer, but still vague.

To an entomologist, a bug is specifically an insect in the Order Hemiptera or what are call 'true bugs'.

In this section, we aren't discussing germs nor listening devices, but we will be more specific than just any six legged invertebrate.

However, not all "bugs" are insects. The Phylum Arthropoda (members of which Phylum are called Arthropods) includes several Classes therein. Arthropods are invertebrate animals which have a jointed body and limbs, usually a chitinous shell which is molted (i.e. shed) at intervals (usually as the animal grows and needs a larger outer body). The brain is dorsal to the alimentary canal and connected with a ventral chain of ganglia. Included, Now that was clear enough wasn't it?

Included in the Phylum Arthropoda are three Classes: Insecta, Arachnida, and Crustacea. Crustaceans are mostly aquatic Arthropods which have a chitinous or calcereous and chitinous exoskeleton, a pair of often much modified appendages on each segment and two pair of antennae. Crustaceans include lobsters, shrimps, crawfish, crabs, wood lice, water fleas and surprisingly barnacles. We do not include crustaceans on this page, but click here to go to the page on crustaceans.

The Class Uniramia or Insecta (i.e. insects and kin) includes many Orders.

CHECKLIST OF INSECT ORDERS

                        Subclass Apterygota
                                Order Protura
                                Order Collembola
                                Order Ditlura
                                Order Thysanura
                                Order Microcoryphia
        
                        Subclass Apterygota
                                Division Exopterygota
                                        Order Ephmeroptera
                                        Order Odonata
                                        Order Orthoptera
                                        Order Dermaptera
                                        Order Isoptera
                                        Order Embioptera
                                        Order Plecoptera
                                        Order Zoraptera
                                        Order Psocoptera
                                        Order Mallophaga
                                        Order Anoplura
                                        Order Thysanoptera
                                        Order Hemiptera
                                        Order Homoptera

                                Division Endopterygota
                                        Order Neuroptera
                                        Order Coleoptera
                                        Order Strepsiptera
                                        Order Mecoptera
                                        Order Trichoptera
                                        Order Lepidoptera
                                        Order Diptera
                                        Order Siphonaptera
                                        Order Hymenoptera

Here are some of the Insect Orders.

This section is just being constructed so the pages referred to are now being set up and are not yet available

The Class Arachnida (Arachnids) includes Araneae (Spiders), Scorpiones (Scorpions), Acarii (Mites and Ticks).
We will discuss some of these in this Section.

This section is under construction, so there is much more to be added. Thanks for your patience as we build the section on "Bugs & Insects"

Here is sample of the type of things you will see on this Master page and other related linked pages,

This is a pet millipede which I found on the hot pavement of a highway in West Texas in August, 1996.