Why are insects considered successful?

Answer 1

Insects are considered successful because:
1. There are many different types of them in almost every possible terrestrial environment
2. In terms of both population and weight, there are more of them on earth than any other animal.

Answer 2

First off, they are one of the few organisms that can occupy the niche of the sky. When they first developed the ability to fly, they were the only organisms in the air. Even today, there are relatively few predators of insects that can occupy the air, birds and bats.

Secondly, the ability of many insects (excluding dragonflies, mayflies, etc.) to fold their wings enables them to occupy land niches that they could otherwise never have occupied.

Third, holometaboly. Having larvae feed on one thing and adults feed on another decreases competition between the same species and allows for more resources to be partitioned.

Another huge one is the development of eusociality. Eusocial insects make up the largest biomass on earth. They are simply amazing. Its that all for one and one for all mentality (if you can call it a mentality). You have termites that live simply so that the queen and king can reproduce. Many are specialized, like the termites with nauste for spraying acidic chemicals on nest attackers. Strength in numbers.

Answer 3

There are a number of different criteria of success
that might be used: number of different kinds in
existence, number of individuals alive at a given
time, number of different habitats occupied, total
biomass, total energy consumption as compared
with other groups. By any of these criteria insects
are at or near the top as compared with any other
organisms, as far as we know. The only major
habitat insects have not been able to occupy to
any significant degree is the ocean.

Answer 4

Because they "bee" all that they can "bee"?