Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta (Insects)

Adult insects all have three pairs of legs and typically move about by walking, flying, or sometimes swimming. Insects are the only invertebrates that can fly and many species are equipped with one or two pairs of wings. Many insect species live a portion of their life cycle under water. Some adult insects are aquatic and have adaptations for swimming. Many insect species are solitary while others, including some bees, ants and termites, are social and live in highly organised colonies. Humans consider some insect species to be pests because they damage crops or spread diseases and attempt to control them with pesticides which may also harm beneficial species. Some insects, called pollinators, are essential to the life-cycle of many flowering plants upon which most organisms, including humans, are at least partly dependent, and without them the terrestrial portion of the Earth's biosphere (including humans) would be devastated.