Community Magazine August 2019

Peleh the BoyWonder HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED… What is an INSECT ? A n insect is an animal that has three main body parts, two compound eyes, two antennae, and six jointed legs. Instead of bones, insects have hard exoskeletons, which protect their soft bodies like a coat of armor. Insects’ three body parts are: a head, a thorax (middle body segment), and an abdomen. Most insects have two pairs of wings (four total), though some have only one pair. Their legs and wings are all attached to the thorax. Insects breathe through spiracles , tiny holes along the sides of their bodies. Insects are a very diverse group of animals. There are more than one million species of insects that have already been discovered, and probably at least that many more that have not yet been discovered and identified! Most insects hatch from eggs and go through several different stages of life, in a process known as metamorphosis . Very ANTeresting Insect questions that bug people the most (pun intended): Child Prodigy PelehWunder – more commonly known as Peleh the BoyWonder Small in Size, Large in Numbers There are more insects in the world than all the other animals combined! The answer to all three questions is NO . These types of reactions occur only in breathing systems that are similar to ours. Insects breathe through tiny holes in their skin, so they have no reason to sneeze, cough, or hiccup. An insect grows by getting rid of its old exoskeleton and replacing it with a new, slightly larger one each time. This is called molting. Once the insect is an adult, it will not grow or molt anymore. Cicada Molting Do insects sneeze? Do insects cough? Do insects hiccup? 94 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE