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Excerpts From "The Wonderful World of Insects"

What is an Insect?
An insect is quite different from you and me. It has a body that is divided into three parts: the head, the middle which is called the thorax and the abdomen which is usually the largest part of the body.

Did you know that many insects can see in more than one direction without turning their heads? This is because they have compound eyes. Compound eyes are made up of lots of cone-shaped units packed close together.

An insect has something else which we don’t. It has two antennae sticking out from the top of its head. Insects use their antennae to tell them about sound, touch, taste and smell.

Now we almost have the complete insect; a body divided into three parts, compound eyes and two antennae. But we’ve left out something… the legs. Guess how many legs the insect has? Well, multiply two by three and you have the answer. The insect has six legs. Add two pairs of wings to the insects that fly and you have the complete picture.

This is true of most but not all insects.

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[Earth facts for kids]

By Harinder Dhanoa Motihar; Illustrations by Paulina Dhanoa; Published by National Book Trust, India

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