Noninsectous

Noninsectous is an adjective used to describe organisms that are not insects. Insects are a class of invertebrates within the arthropod phylum that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and one pair of antennae. Therefore, anything that does not possess these defining characteristics is considered noninsectous.

This broad category includes a vast array of life forms. It encompasses other arthropods that are not insects, such as arachnids (spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks), myriapods (centipedes, millipedes), and crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimp). Beyond the arthropods, the term noninsectous also applies to all other animal phyla, including mollusks (snails, clams, octopuses), annelids (earthworms, leeches), echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins), and all vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals). Even non-animal life forms like plants, fungi, bacteria, and archaea are inherently noninsectous. The term is primarily used in biological contexts to distinguish between insects and all other living organisms.