Insects have been thriving on this planet for about 350 million years and the oldest known insect fossil dates back 400 million years however Homo sapiens L. have lived for only 130,000 years. Globally there are approximately 7 million species of terrestrial arthropods with 5.5 million species of insects (Stork, 2018). Insects are more abundant and conspicuous in nature as compared to humans. For some of us insects are scary, for some irritating and challenging, for some nature admirers and professional entomologists they are always fascinating and intriguing and for some they involve commerce as it is their livelihood!

This website is primarily to highlight the common myths and facts associated with certain species of Indian arthropods (majorly insects) as some of them appear weird and venomous by displaying dangerous looks possessing unique attributes for instance mimicry/camouflage behaviour; however they might not be the same in true sense. Mimetic associations by numerous species are the best catch for evolutionary studies. This site showcases many bizarre and interesting species housed at the National Insect Museum (NIM) of ICAR- National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources located at Bengaluru, India. Through this we aim to provide awareness to general public and amateurs!



Venomous/ irritating/ scary species



Camouflage creatures/ deceiving forms



Model-Mimic



Frequent flyers



Enchanting beauties



Bizarre



Furious predators



Largest/smallest insects



Museum highlights