Types of Insects With Many Legs

The types of insects who have many legs are referred to as bugs. Bugs and insects are different, as bugs have six legs and a stylet, which is a mouth built like a straw. The bugs will suck nectar from flowers or blood from other insects or animals. There are five general bug categories.

A fly has a segmented body, with three separate parts, antennae as well as small back wings used for equilibrium. The fly's mouth is protruding and piercing. Mosquitoes, houseflies and gnats fall into this category. The common housefly is known for spreading disease due to its attraction to feces and rotting meat, and mosquitoes and gnats tend to feed on humans. Other common flies are the fruit fly, the blue fly and the drain fly.

The beetle family includes the june bug, the weevil, the potato bug, the lady bug and the firefly. Beetles possess three body parts that are protected under a shell, similar to a turtle shell. When protecting themselves, they will pull their six legs and antennae into the shell. Most beetles can fly. According to the San Diego Zoo, beetles represent one fourth of all animals and are the largest animal group. Beetles have survived for 300 million years on Earth.

There are 26 different types of dragonflies, including water skimmers and flyers. The back legs of the flyers are close to the middle legs and sometimes harder to spot, but all dragonflies have six legs. They have segmented bodies. The flyers have clear, transparent wings. Some flyers have color along the edges of their wings. The skimmers are the most diverse dragonfly family with more than a hundred species.

Butterflies and moths both have small, segmented bodies, stylet type mouths, antennae and six legs. Their wing size differentiates them from other bugs. Both butterflies and moths have wings three times larger than their body size. The wings are light and delicate, allowing the insects to fly from flower to flower and avoid predators. Butterflies are diurnal, which means they are active during the day, while moths are nocturnal. Butterflies also have clubbed antennae while moths have flat, fuzzy antennae.

This bug category follows beetles in a close second for the world's most plentiful animal. Ants possess segmented bodies and are most apparent in the tropical rainforests. Encyclopedia Smithsonian states that the world is home to more than 8,000 types of ants. Wasps are segmented animals with stingers on their tails. Only female wasps sting, as only they are able to grow a stinger strong enough for defense. Bees also possess stingers, but can only use their stingers once because their segmented bodies break in half and they die after attacking.