Insects

In the insect exhibition, you can see:

• Butterflies in every shape and colour
• Grasshoppers: some can fly 100 kilometres without resting
• Ants: can carry 50 times their own body weight
• Large, colourful and spectacular insects from around the world

Insects crawl and creep, buzz and fly; they sting, bite and suck blood; they pollinate flowers and fruit trees and do a thousand other things besides. Even when we think of them as pests, they are useful: they break down plant and animal remains and lay the foundation for new life.

The exhibition gives you glimpses of a remarkably diverse world. Here you can study thousands of insects, from the very smallest to those that are truly large, colourful and spectacular.

All insects today are descended from a crustacean-like species that once made the leap from salt water to dry land. Like their relatives in the sea, insects have a hard outer shell that protects the body, and a body built up of many segments. The same is true of spiders and millipedes, which is why we call all these animals arthropods.

After the 'crustacean foremother' crawled ashore, three main lineages of arthropods spread out: insects, myriapods and chelicerates. But it was the insects that truly conquered the planet.

With more than a million known species, and perhaps just as many still unknown, insects are, without question, the most diverse animal group on the planet. In the exhibition, you will gain insight into insects' history and their kinship with one another, and how they became such a formidable success.

They have many strings to their bow: they live in organized societies, they can fly, they interact with plants and other animals, and some can even transform themselves. Think of the caterpillar in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, who one day became a beautiful butterfly. Many insects are also true tough guys: the grasshopper can fly 100 kilometres without resting, and the ant can carry 50 times its own body weight.