Insects are the most biologically successful
free-living animals on earth as well as the dominant life form.
They outnumber all other animals, by a ratio of 4 to 1. These
tiny creatures provide most of the biodiversity on this planet
and are essential to the workings of almost all terrestrial
ecosystems. Entomology, or the study of insects, is considered
an extremely serious science. Here are some rare facts about
these tiny creatures that cohabit the globe with us lurking
indoors in dark corners, walls or cupboards; or outdoors, under
leaves, wet grass or burrowed in the ground, most often hidden
and unseen.
There are a million kinds of insects currently recognized, and possibly
between eight and 30 million more species yet to be discovered.
There are over 90,000 species of insect in North America alone.
New York States insect mascot is the Ladybug while New Jerseys is the
Honey bee. The largest insect in the earths documented history was
the fossil dragonfly, Meganeura, which lived about 250 million years
ago. Its wingspan ranged over two feet.
The largest insect alive today is a tropical stick insect whose wingspan
averages 13 inches from end to end.
The heaviest insect is the African Goliath beetle whose average weight
is a quarter of a pound but whose length is only five inches long.
Fairyflies are the smallest insects known to humans, being only 1/5
of a millimeter long.
The fastest flying insect is the tabanid fly (related to the horse
fly) whose speed has been clocked at 90 mph. Hawk moths have been timed
at 33.5 miles per hour. Honey bees fly at about 7 mph and beat their
wings 190 times per second.
Male mosquitoes flap their wings 450 to 600 times per second. Beating
that record is the tiny midge which can beat its hairy wings 1,046
times per second.
Fleas have the ability to jump 200 times their bodylength.
Most dangerous of all insects is the mosquito which often carries malaria,
yellow fever and dengue diseases often fatal to humans.
The queen of a termite colony often lives between 15 and 50 years,
while laying possibly six to seven thousand eggs per day.
The most numerous group of insects are the beetles. Their number is
estimated at somewhere around 300,000 species.
The fastest runners, as well as the oldest insects on earth, are the
cockroaches, who can move a foot per second and date back 300 million
years. A cockroach can also live for nine days without its head!
The Bombardier beetle, in defending itself, will shoot a hot, noxious
liquid from its abdomen with a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Insects can breathe, swallow and feed at the same time.
Information sources: University of Kentucky Entomology Department
Insect Information compiled by Rudy Scheiber and Stephanie Bailey from
the Internet.
