Insecta
noun plural
                                                                                                                            
                                                            In·sec·ta
                    
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                  in-ˈsek-tə  
                                                      
                                                          
            
                                
              
          
                                                      : a class of Arthropoda comprising segmented animals that as adults have a well-defined head bearing a single pair of antennae, three pairs of mouthparts, and usually a pair of compound eyes, a 3-segmented thorax each segment of which bears a pair of legs ventrally with the second and third often bearing also a pair of wings, and an abdomen usually of 7 to 10 visible segments without true jointed legs but often with the last segments modified or fitted with specialized extensions (as claspers, stingers, or ovipositors), that breathe air usually through a ramifying system of tracheae which open externally through spiracles or gills, that exhibit a variety of life cycles often involving complex metamorphosis, and that include the greater part of all living and extinct animals                                      
                
                    
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  Merriam-Webster unabridged




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