How many different kinds of insects are there?

Insects are the most varied group of living animals on the planet. There are millions of them, accounting for more than 90% of all creatures on the planet. Insects may be found in practically every environment on the planet, with the greatest concentration in the tropics. Scientists are on a quest to count the number of bug species, but they have encountered several obstacles, making it a continuous effort. Currently, about 925,000 bug species have been recognized.

Insects are everywhere—there are more bugs in one square mile (approximately 2.6 square kilometers) of rural land than there are humans on the planet. There are 32 orders or categories of insects. Beetles (Coleoptera) are the biggest insect order, with 125 distinct families and roughly 500,000 different species. Of fact, one in every four species on the planet is a form of beetle. There are roughly 73,000 insect species in the United States, including around 24,000 beetles, 19,500 flies, 17,500 ants, bees, and wasps, and 11,500 moths and butterflies.