Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
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Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
Details...
 
Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
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Phylum Arthropoda - Arthropods

Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Other Common Names
Bugs
Explanation of Names
from the Greek arthron (αρθρον)- "joint" + podos (ποδος)- "of foot, leg"; refers to the jointed legs of all members in the phylum
Numbers
17 classes
99 orders
About 2140 families
About 1.1 million described species (plus many more undescribed)
Size
most species of Arthropods are in the range 2-25 mm (or 1/12th to 1 inch)
Three or more pairs of jointed legs
Segmented body
Bilaterally symmetrical
Possessing an exoskeleton, usually tough, composed in part of chitin

See BugGuide Glossary for terminology.
Range
Cosmopolitan
Habitat
Almost every habitat.
Internet References
Introduction to the Arthropoda - overview of fossil record, life history, ecology, systematics, and morphology (Ben Waggoner and Allen Collins, U. of California Museum of Paleontology)
Tree of Life - starting page of Arthropoda taxonomic tree, with representative images, many literature references, and links to more info (David Maddison, U. of Arizona)
Modern Systematics of Insects - includes complete hierarchial listing of all higher taxa of Arthropoda, plus links to discussions on systematics (N. Kluge, St. Petersburg State U., Russia)
Insect Morphology - excellent illustrated glossary (U. of Minnesota, adapted from U. of Sydney, Australia)
Works Cited
1.Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife
By Don E. Wilson, David Burnie
2.A Field Guide to Insects
By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson