Invertebrates are impressive in abundance and diversity, living on land and in water and air.
Many species are borne to distant places on air and water currents, and via modern transportation. Within an acre of land and water, hundreds of different invertebrates form an ecological web of builders, gatherers, collectors, predators, and grazers, all interacting with each other and each a necessary component of a healthy ecosystem. We have just begun to understand the ecology of some commercially important species, but we understand very little about the behavior, communication, and function of many other invertebrates within various ecosystems. Each individual invertebrate is a highly complex, specialized animal. For example, some insects transform from egg to larva, then to pupa, and finally emerge as a terrestrial winged adult.