Author: Nicholas Green, Assistant Professor of Biology, Kennesaw State University

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. How many types of insects are there in the world? – Sawyer, age 8, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Exploring anywhere on Earth, look closely and you’ll find insects. Check your backyard and you may see ants, beetles, crickets, wasps, mosquitoes and more. There are more kinds of insects than there are mammals, birds and plants combined. This fact has fascinated scientists for centuries. One of the things biologists like me do is classify all living things…