In the Madeira Archipelago, the insect group represents about 75% of all the known animal species. Factors like the geographic isolation and the existence of scarcely explored habitats have allowed for some insects to vary, resulting in numerous endemic species. The most frequent adaptations that may be observed in endemic insects are the reduction or atrophy of the wings in some species of coleopterous and the alteration in the body size.

It is estimated that aprox. 20% of the insect species known in the Madeira Island are endemic. Among the groups with greatest diversity are the coleopterous (beetles), with about 800 species and the hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants), with approximately 500. The dipterous (flies and mosquitoes), homopterous (plant louses) and lepidopterous (butterflies and moths) are respectively represented by 400, 300 and 319 species.

Even though some groups are scarcely known, it is estimated that there are almost 3000 insect species, though this figure is far from being definite.

Due to its endemicity and extraordinay beauty, some animals belonging to the insect class, such as the diurnal butterflies or the beetle from the Selvagens islands, have aroused the interest of many visitors of the Madeira Archipelago.