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   nextInsects and Biodiversity Insects and People Insect Characteristics |
 
INSECTS AND BIODIVERSITY SHEER NUMBERS Insects comprise the largest group of organisms It has been estimated that there may be as many as a billion billion (1018) individual insects alive on the earth at any given moment. Insects comprise the largest group of organisms, measured either in number of individuals or number of species. Approximately eight hundred thousand (800 000) species have been identified, documented and described. However, there could be an estimated 10 million species in total. In Canada, thirty-five thousand (35 000) species have been described and in a single backyard, there may be over a thousand kinds of insects. Insects live in every conceivable habitat on land and in freshwater and a few inhabit saltwater areas. Groups of organisms are ranked according to their relative contribution to total biodiversity. In the following diagram, their size is relative to their number of species. 
1. Mammals 2. Amphibians 3. Bacteria 4. Sponges 5. Echinoderms 6. Reptiles 7. Cholenterates 8. Birds 9. Earthworms10. Roundworms 11. Flatworms 12. Fish 13. Algae 14. Protozoa 15. Fungi 16. Mollusks 17. Noninsect arthropods 18. Plants 19. Insects 
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