What Are Aquatic Insects?
Insects are invertebrates (animals without a backbone) that are part of the larger group of animals called arthropods. Arthropod means “joint footed.” That name was given to these animals because all of the arthropods have legs with joints that are something like our elbows and knees. Some other arthropod relatives of insects are crayfish, crabs, lobsters, millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and ticks. Most insects are terrestrial (live on land), and are found in places such as trees, shrubs, flowers, rocks, logs, soil, buildings, and especially our gardens. Everyone is familiar with common terrestrial insects such as butterflies, moths, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, and flies. There are also many kinds of insects that live in the water. These are called aquatic insects, and they are often not seen unless you explore places such as puddles, ponds, lakes, ditches, streams, and lakes. There are many different kinds of aquatic insects and almost
