News Animals

A whopping 14 million species of insects — or more — may roam Earth

A new estimate doubles current estimates of insect biodiversity

A hairy black and orange striped caterpillar with white cocoons coming out of its back munches on a green leaf

A survey of parasitoid wasps in Costa Rica’s Área de Conservación Guanacaste helped researchers estimate that at least 14 million insect species may exist on Earth. Shown is a caterpillar covered in parasitic wasp cocoons in Ecuador.

Steve A. Marshall/U. of Guelph

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

A new estimate of insect diversity suggests there are at least 14 million to 20 million species buzzing and crawling around the globe.