Ask many people that question, and you ll probably hear answers like javelinas or turkey vultures. The identification of a new species of beetle just a few years ago in the Chisos Mountains tells us that countless more unknown insects may still await discovery.
Insects make up more than half of all living things on Earth, comprising over one million species.
This figure does not include non-insect arthropods , such as spiders and scorpions. First, all insects are arthropods, animals that lack backbones and have jointed legs and external skeletons, or exoskeletons. Arthropods include such diverse animals as roaches, millipedes, tarantulas, and lobsters. Third, almost all insects have wings. No other group of arthropods can fly.