Overview
Although really small compared to humans, insects are very complex creatures. At first glance, they look quite simple. However, the microscope tells a different story. As you study the external anatomy of insects, you will discover how many miniature structures give its overall appearance to the insect.
This link will lead you to a pdf file that has all you need to know about the exoskeleton of insects.
The file comes from a group of interconnected websites affiliated with the University of Nevada. The homepage contains a list of names, each being that of the creator of a website containing different major areas of study.The pdf file you will be reading discusses exoskeleton's function , structure, and composition, insects body plan, and a few insect orders.
The insect body is divided into three tagmata: head thorax, and abdomen.
On this website made by Tim Forrest, teacher at the department of biology of the University of North Carolina at Ashville, you will learn about the small parts that form each of these three structures. The website contains several biology courses including an entomology course from which this link was taken. The link constitutes one of the 12 lectures posted on the entomology
webpage. They give information on the external structure of the head,, thorax, and abdomen of insects.