Do ants have bones outside their bodies?

Chinu, a sweet boy of nine, was sitting on the jhula on a warm summer evening, enjoying his Nani's aam-papad. Chinu had a big sweet tooth. He loved to enjoy the delicacies his mum and Nani made, especially the mango treats. 

While eating, he saw some ants feasting on his delight's few fallen pieces. Some ants were also carrying it home. But he was amazed to see how a 'rai ka daana jitni' ant took such a big chunk of food and ran away. He thought maybe that ant was  'Shaktimaan' of all the ants. But no, to his surprise, all the ants could carry a lot of food compared to their sizes. So he ran and called Shweta didi to look at the ants. 

And he asks, "Didi, look how powerful all the ants are. They're able to lift so much weight. So why am I not even able to lift my school bag every day?" 

Shweta laughs and replies, "Because they've something called an exoskeleton. And do you know Chinu, what that means? "

Chinu wonders before replying what does this exoskeleton can mean? But Chinu being an intelligent kid, figures out it has something to do with a skeleton. He studied in his science class that all big animals called mammals have a frame of bones in their body called a skeleton. 

Chinu finally asks, "Didi, what does this 'Exo' thing mean?"  

Shweta smiles and replies, "It means external or outside." 

Chinu's eyes widen as he asks, "Then does exoskeleton mean outside skeleton, Didi?''

Amazed at the boy's answer, Shweta replies, "Yes, Chinu, you're thinking in the right direction. But exoskeleton is not really a bony skeleton present outside the body. It is more like an armor of iron that a soldier wears on the battlefield."

Chinu asks excitedly, "So, is the exoskeleton of ants made up of iron? Won't it be too heavy to carry so much iron?"

Shweta laughs and says, "No Chinu, the exoskeleton is not made up of iron. Instead, a substance called Chitin is what these armors or exoskeletons are made up of. And No bachha, it is not heavy for them to carry."

Chinu finds this very interesting and asks further, "Didi, do only ants have these exoskeletons? I want one too. It seems cool."

Shweta replies, ''No Chinu, lots of insects like bee, beetle, spider, cockroach, grasshopper. Animals of the sea like crabs, prawns, oysters, lobster. And other animals, like centipedes, snails, and lots more, have an exoskeleton. You know this exoskeleton supports and protects them."

Chinu, now very excited, starts yelling, "I want an exoskeleton too. I want an exoskeleton too." 

Shweta says, calming him down, that it's not feasible for humans to have exoskeletons as the exoskeleton needs to be upgraded to a bigger size with growth, leaving us without any protection when the new shell is forming. Also, we would be crushed under our own weight and limit our flexibility if we possessed such an enormous exoskeleton. Moreover, it creates lots of other issues too. So a chitin exoskeleton is super strong only if you're small." 

Chinu feels sad as he can't have the dreamy strong armor that could have potentially made him the strongest man. 

Shweta then tells him that if not the strongest, then he can be the kindest, loving, and most courageous man. 

Chinu smiles and nods, but then he realizes he was out of aam-papad and runs inside to grab and enjoy some more while wondering about the little secrets that he observes.