Besides mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, there are other kinds of animals that live on land. They are mostly small, and some can fly. Some live in our homes, and some even live on us. These are the creatures we call mini-beasts—insects, spiders, worms and many others. You may, on a summer’s day, come across bees and butterflies flitting from flower to flower. Meanwhile, beetles, centipedes and spiders scuttle around on the ground, while the soil is full of ants, worms and other small creatures. Some are far too tiny to see without a microscope.

Invertebrates

Mini-beasts are invertebrates. They do not have backbones. Invertebrates live on both on land and in the sea. By far the biggest group of invertebrates are the arthropods (the name means “joined legs”). All insects, mites, arachnids (spiders, scorpions and ticks) and crustaceans (crabs, shrimps and woodlice) are arthropods.