As has been said already, the lenses matter far more than the body. For the subject matter you mentioned, you would do best with a dedicated macro lens and a long telephoto, neither of which come cheaply even in third party format.
As regards bodies, think about how you intend to view your images - an old 6-8MP body such as a 20D will produce perfectly satisfactory prints at A4 size, so when you are up in the 12+MP bracket, you have all the resolving power most people will ever need. Other factors such as speed of focus, tracking focus etc would be more important, and of course ease of use in your hand.
I would start with a cheap secondhand body and the best glass you can afford, then go from there once you have explored the limitations of what you have.
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