What are you scared of? When asked this question, lots of people say "bugs". But insects aren't scary at all! In fact, they are very interesting creatures.
Do you know what a bug is? A bug is an insect.
Insects are a type of animal. Insects are special for many reasons.
Insects are special because they all have six legs. All bugs have three pairs of legs.
Insects are special because they all have three body parts. The first part is called the head.
The second part is called the thorax. This is where the legs and wings are.
The third part is called the abdomen. That is the stomach area of the insect.
Insects are special because they all have no backbone. All humans and mammals have backbones.
But insects don't have backbones. They have no bones at all. They have exoskeletons. They are made like a shell.
Insects are special because they all have two antennae. Many insects use these antennae to talk to each other. It uses its antennae to feel.
They also use their antennae to learn about what is around them. You might see an insect's antennae moving a lot. That is because the insect is trying to feel the surrounding things.
Insects are special because they all have compound eyes. We only have two eyes. Our eyes are simple. Insect eyes are very complex.
They are called compound eyes because they are made from many different parts. Compound eyes help insects see very well. They can see many things all around. That is why many insects have very big eyes.
Insects all look very different from one another. Some are spotted. Ladybirds are spotted. They are red with black spots.
Some are striped. Wasps are striped. They are yellow and black. Be careful not to get stung!
An aphid is an example of a small insect. They can be many different colours. An aphid sucks the sap from trees. They produce lots of babies. They live in big groups.
There are so many insects in the world. There are more than one million types of insects on Earth. Lots of people are scared of insects. But I think they are more scared of us than we are of them!