“Six legs,” Leo said. “That’s an insect thing. Spiders have eight.”
is an . Specifically, it is an insect belonging to the order Coleoptera is a beetle an arthropod
“It’s like a little knight,” Leo said. “Six legs,” Leo said
“It’s an arthropod,” Leo said, the words fitting into his mind like a key into a lock. “Because it has a jointed body and legs, and a hard outside skeleton.” Specifically, it is an insect belonging to the
“Exactly. An external skeleton,” Grandfather said. “A suit of armor on the outside . That’s the second great mark of an arthropod. We have bones inside. A beetle wears its skeleton like a coat of mail. It’s made of a tough material called chitin—the same stuff in mushroom stems and crab shells.”
Because an arthropod wears a rigid suit of armor, it cannot grow continuously like a human does. A beetle is trapped inside its exoskeleton. To grow, it must shed its old skin and puff itself up before the new skin hardens. This process, called molting, is a hallmark of all arthropods.