Do insects have bones?

No. Instead, every insect has an outside skeleton, called an exoskeleton. Attached to the exoskeleton are the insect’s muscles. The exoskeleton protects the insect like a suit of armor. As the insect grows bigger, its exoskeleton gets too tight. It splits open and the insect comes out. This is called molting. Then, a new and bigger exoskeleton hardens around the insect. Molting occurs again and again, until the insect is a full-sized adult.