Scientists estimate that insects make up to 90 per cent of all species of animal on Earth – and more than half of all living things. What they lack in size, they certainly make up for in number. They are the most abundant group of animals in the world and live in almost every habitat.
How many insects are there in the world?
Over one million species of insects have been discovered and categorised, but this is only the tip of the iceberg – there are believed to be as many as 10 million species on Earth.
For every single person on Earth, there are approximately 1.4 billion insects. They’re small but mighty – the total weight of all the insects on Earth is believed to be about 70 times more than all the people.
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What’s the most common insect in the world?
Ants are considered the most numerous insect species on Earth, with populations estimated to be in the trillions (or perhaps beyond). Ant colonies thrive in almost any land environment. There are estimated to be over 15,000 known species of ant. They are beneficial in most environments: spreading seeds, fertilising soil and breaking down dead organic matter.
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According to the Royal Entomological Society, the largest known order of insects on Earth is Coleoptera (beetles), with between 300,000 and 400,000 species described to date. The next largest order is Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), followed by Diptera (true flies) and then Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps).
What’s the most common insect in the UK?
There are believed to be over 24,000 species of insect in the UK, but it’s not known which is the most common as they are difficult to track in precise numbers. Ants and flies are likely to be among the most common and numerous insects on our shores. There are around 7,000 species of flies in the UK, but only about 50 species of ant.
Find out more about the UK's key insect pollinators here.
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