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Just as the huge sun sparkles and shimmers with all its colors in a drop of morning dew, so in any tiny bug, in any inconspicuous insect, the wealth, beauty and endless diversity of the vast world of insects is reflected. There are myriads of them - for every person living on earth, there are more than two hundred and fifty million insects.
Beetles and butterflies, bees and flies, cockroaches and spiders, ants and bumblebees, ladybugs and grasshoppers, wasps and mosquitoes, dragonflies and crickets - these are all our smaller brothers, whom we sometimes do not notice due to the pace of our lives. Stop, look around. Any insect, regardless of its size and role in nature, upon careful study turns out to be endlessly interesting and entertaining.
You will definitely have many questions. Why do spiders weave such geometrically regular webs? Why is a fly so difficult to catch? How do bees and ants communicate with each other? Why is a cute-looking ladybug considered a cruel predator? Where are the grasshopper's ears?
Plunge into the intriguing and mysterious, colorful and bewitching world of flying and crawling insects, boogers, beetles - the WORLD OF INSECTS.
Do you think insects are just annoying us? Would you like to get rid of these annoying creatures forever? Perhaps you bully, crush and beat them at every opportunity? But before you declare a general mobilization to fight any insect that catches your eye, why not learn as much as possible about the amazing and unique world of insects? Since there are two hundred million times more insects on our planet than us people, they will always be next to us!
Let's take a closer look at just a few of these amazing tiny creatures, and you can see that they deserve your attention and respect.
In the wonderful world of insects, smells and sounds quite often help to find a partner. This is important for tiny insects, whose life lasts only a few weeks, and it is difficult to find few partners.
The female moth of the night peacock eye attracts her partner with her smell. This smell is so strong that her partner can find her even eleven kilometers away. The male's sensitive antennae enable him to detect one single molecule of this substance.
Cicadas, grasshoppers and crickets prefer a different method of finding mates. They want to be heard. We quite often hear the love songs of cicadas, whose entire body acts as a resonator. And the chirping of a whole group of cicadas can drown out the noise of a working pneumatic drill! However, there are female cicadas that make no sounds at all.
Everything unfamiliar and incomprehensible causes us anxiety, and the world of insects lives according to laws that are alien and unclear to us. Insects can do what we cannot do - fly without falling, crawl along smooth steep walls and ceilings, run on water, build unimaginable structures... But besides this, they can, seemingly out of the blue, give a painful bite or sting or crawl under clothes. “They are very small and too mysterious and unpredictable. It is impossible to establish contact with them; they are quick and elusive and cannot be controlled by humans. We never know how our meeting with them will end - whether they want to attack us or whether they will calmly fly or crawl past.
It would seem harmless insects - grasshoppers, dragonflies, flies, but for some people these representatives of the insect world cause panic. Why are we afraid of even the smallest and most harmless insects, how can we overcome the fear of them?
Excessive fear of insects is one of the types of phobias to which people are susceptible - entomophobia or insectophobia. It happens that a glance, a word or even the sound of a flying insect is enough for a person to be literally overwhelmed by panic. There are few people who love insects, but if someone can not pay any attention to them, then there are people for whom any contact with mosquitoes or flies is a real test that can turn a country picnic into a nightmare. In some cases, the cause may be a negative experience of recent interaction with insects, but most often such panic has other reasons.
Do not try to convince a person who is afraid of insects that there is no danger or it is simply exaggerated, never make fun of him: this will turn against you: instead of comprehending his feelings and analyzing them, he will transform all his fear into hostility attitude towards you. Try to support his state of mind with your own example. Probably, seeing how much pleasure you get from relaxing in nature, in the fresh air, he will try to overcome his own fear and join you.
The less we know about the object that causes us fear and apprehension, the more we are susceptible to various fantasies and our fear increases. Before you go out of town, into nature, look at photographs or films about their life, look through reference books and encyclopedias to find out what real threat is posed by certain types of insects living in your area. Learn more about the source of your fear and your fear may decrease.
Make a tremendous effort on yourself and try to stay in place when you see a wasp or spider, and not run away out of panic - running always increases our fear. Take a deep breath and exhale. Continuing to breathe deeply, evaluate the current situation: who is stronger, you or the small insect? Who is in greater danger - you, big and strong, capable of taking the life of a small insect in front of you with one clap, or even him? This will help you free yourself from irrational fear and anxiety and see the situation with different eyes - as it really is. Remember everything you learned about this insect earlier - this will give you even more self-confidence.
In our everyday life, insects are simply irreplaceable. About thirty percent of the crops we use to produce food are pollinated by bees, most of them wild. But pollination is only a small part of the beneficial things that insects do. They participate in the cycle of substances in nature, cleaning our earth from the remains of dead plants and animals. Thanks to their tireless work, the soil is enriched and the nutrients needed for the growth of green plants are released.
No one disputes that some types of insects destroy crops and are carriers of diseases. But, from the point of view of people, no more than 1 percent of all insects living in the world are considered harmful, and we suffer from many of them due to interference with wildlife.
Often, to combat harmful insects, people use methods that do not spoil the ecological balance, growing and protecting natural enemies of insects. The common ladybug and lacewing provide an excellent defense mechanism against aphids. And in Southeast Asia, doctors discovered that just a couple of dragonfly larvae can completely prevent the appearance and development of mosquito larvae in a container of water.
And yet, despite all the shortcomings, insects are an integral part of the world of living nature, on which our lives depend. In the words of one entomologist: “insects can do without us, but we can’t do without them.”
Insects appeared, according to scientists, in the Devonian period, more than 400 million years ago. Moreover, insects turned out to be the first inhabitants of our planet to master the air environment, and this happened 300 - 320 million years ago. And only 150 million years after this, flying lizards appeared on Earth, and then birds. Since then, insects have made great strides in their development. And now, watching them, we are amazed at their diversity of abilities and way of life. Even the smallest and most insignificant insect can reveal extraordinary secrets to the researcher. You know that ants, for example, never sleep, and butterflies taste food using their hind legs. A swarm of desert locusts can consist of 50,000,000,000 (50 billion) individuals, and crickets have ears located on their front legs. Discovering the wonderful world of insects, we will learn more and more new facts from their life.
Insects appeared on the planet long before people. They can be considered the rightful masters on Earth, since this class is the most numerous in all fauna. Despite their relatively small size, they were able to populate all continents, including cold continents and arid regions. Among the insects of our planet you can find amazing representatives that have an interesting appearance or lead an unusual lifestyle.
Their variety is amazing: some are unexpectedly large, others can barely be seen; There are those that surprise with their beauty, and some specimens evoke disgust or even fear. The top 10 contains the most amazing insects found in nature.
These animals never live alone. They create complex colonies with a clear distribution of functions. This feature is due to the fact that termites have lost the ability to take care of themselves and are therefore completely dependent on the community, like the cells of one living organism.
All actions of individual specimens are so clearly controlled that the illusion of the existence of a single “superorganism” is created, the power of which exceeds the power of many large animals. People often associate termites with ants, but their closest relatives are cockroaches.
Termites make it into the top 10 amazing insects and animals thanks to the queen of the colony - a reproductive female who, after only leaving the termite mound for mating, loses her wings and eyesight. Her abdomen begins to grow and lay eggs. Their number can reach 30,000 daily!
All members of the termite mound are born from such clutches. Termites touchingly care for their mother: they bring her food, clean her body and transfer eggs to special incubators. And the queen herself is unable to move, because while she lies in the nest, her large body continues to grow, turning her into a helpless prisoner of a labyrinth of narrow passages leading to the outside world.
For such cohesion, termites are ranked 10th in the ranking of the most amazing insects in the world.
In the 9th position are a special type of fireflies - pyrophores.
Many fireflies have the ability to emit a mysterious light that attracts people. Their luminescent organ is located at the very tip of the abdomen and contains many photogenic cells. The glow occurs due to the oxidation reaction of a fatty substance - luciferin.
Fireflies of the genus Pyrophora have achieved impeccable mastery in controlling the brightness and duration of glow. These inhabitants of tropical forests can turn on 2 different colors on their body at once: the “flashlight” on the abdomen glows bright orange, and on the chest – green.
The brightness of the glow produced by pyrophores is a record among representatives of this class - this beetle can shine 150 times brighter than an ordinary firefly. Local inhabitants use pyrophores to light their way at night by placing several beetles on their hats.
The title of the heaviest representative of the class rightfully goes to the Goliath beetle. It received its specific name precisely because of its impressive weight.
The male of this species takes up the entire palm of an adult and weighs about 100 g. It is quite difficult to hold it in your hand, since in addition to its great weight, it has impressive power, which it demonstrates to anyone who tries to catch or hold it.
Goliath larvae are even larger: they exceed even their parents in size and weight. With a length of 15 cm, they weigh 110-120 g. The appetite of such larvae is amazing: while gaining weight, they can eat not only leaves, but also their fellows.
These amazing creatures are protected because they were coveted and prized specimens in many entomological collections and were destroyed uncontrollably for 200 years.
The Goliath beetle ranks 8th as the heaviest beetle in the insect class.
In 7th place are amazing insects with the smallest sizes.
Of the necessary organs, males have long hind legs that help hold the female during mating. After the function is completed, the male remains on the female for some time, and then the male’s tiny body quickly becomes exhausted and dies.
The 6th place was taken by the family of cicadas, namely the species of paddlefish, which is considered the loudest in the insect world.
Despite their miniature size, not exceeding 3 mm, these singers can produce a sound comparable to the volume of an orchestra or the power of a jackhammer. Only males of this species can sing with such enthusiasm when calling females for mating.
The sound intensity of which one rower is capable is 120 dB. It is easy to imagine how locals suffer when mating season begins in their area. Considering the small size of cicadas, it is quite difficult to find such a singer in the house, since it prefers to climb into cracks between boards or into empty space under wallpaper. Such concerts continue for 3-4 nights in a row, during which insomnia is guaranteed for the owners of the house.
This amazing insect lives in Russia, and its numbers are gradually increasing every year.
Not only animals, but also people suffer from such an ant. They have a pair of glands in their heads, which, in case of danger, produce a large amount of a substance toxic to humans. When this poison comes into contact with the skin, a sensation comparable to a severe burn occurs. The pain quickly increases, and the affected area becomes bright red, sometimes blisters appear, as if exposed to fire.
Ants do not attack people just like that, they protect their homes, which can be arranged in the house, in garbage cans, in sheds and utility rooms. As soon as a person approaches their home, the entire colony of fire ants attacks him, spreading throughout his body and stinging him repeatedly. More than 30 people die from such attacks every year.
These aggressive insects cannot be forced to leave their habitable place with the help of chemical poisons or ultrasonic repellers, so often the owners have no choice but to move to a new place.
The 4th position is occupied by the orchid mantis for its exotic appearance.
This rare and amazing insect lives in Malaysia and Thailand, where many orchids bloom in the wild. The praying mantis is very similar in color and shape to the petals of these plants, which helps it hunt orchid pollinators. He sits down not far from fragrant flowers, and pollinators mistakenly land on him, after which they fall into his tenacious paws.
The color of the orchid mantis is not constant: the main color is white, but depending on the shade of the flower next to which the insect is located, the color of its body or legs may also change. At a young age, such variability is very pronounced, but with age, the ability to change gradually weakens.
Due to its amazing appearance and unpretentiousness to living conditions, the orchid mantis is often kept at home and enjoyed the beauty of this representative of the exotic tropical fauna.
In 3rd place is the Atlas peacock butterfly, which is the largest representative of the insect world. Its wingspan is 26 cm, which causes real admiration among people.
This giant lives in eastern countries - China, India, Pakistan, etc. The largest specimen was discovered on the island of Java, its length was 26.2 cm. It was a female, since females of this species are much larger than males.
The Atlas Peacock-eye is most active in the evening, when dusk sets in. In poor lighting, it is often mistaken for a silent bird.
Its lifespan is very short: immediately after reproduction, the butterfly dies. She does not even have a mouth, since in adult life she does not eat, but lives off the reserves that accumulated during the larval stage.
People appreciated not only the size of the peacock eye: its huge cocoons in Taiwan are used as wallets; tourists willingly buy such souvenirs. In addition, fagar silk is produced from cocoons on a commercial scale, which is superior to silkworm thread in strength and durability.
Position No. 2 is rightfully occupied by representatives of the insect world, which during movement develop the speed at which we most often drive cars. Dragonflies of the southern giant yoke species are capable of flying at a speed of 54 km/h while pursuing prey. Thus, in just a couple of hours they can cover hundreds of kilometers.
During flight, a dragonfly flaps its wings up to 150 times per second, so the human eye cannot distinguish its wings at such a speed. At the same time, they perform masterful techniques: they accelerate sharply, freeze in one place, and can fly backwards and forwards.
Scientists still do not fully understand all the principles of the skillful flight of dragonflies, their flights of tens and hundreds of kilometers, as well as endurance and mechanisms for replenishing energy expended during exercise. Bionics specialists have already borrowed a device from the dragonfly that helps ensure flight with a jet engine, and it is possible that it will suggest many more innovations that can be implemented in helicopter construction.
1st place among the 10 most amazing insects is occupied by cockroaches - creatures that most people have seen. They never aroused sympathy, but they earned sincere admiration due to their adaptability.
The cockroach's survival abilities are limitless: despite all attempts to get rid of these representatives of the animal world, they continue to live next to humans for many centuries.
When completely deprived of food, the animal feels great for a long time and dies only after 50 days, and sometimes more than 2 months, using body reserves to maintain life. During this time, the cockroach can have time to mate and lay larvae. During periods of hunger, he limits his movement so as not to waste extra energy.
The lack of water will kill it much faster - within a week, but this is still quite a lot compared to other animals.
Cockroaches are able to live even without a head: they can remain in this state for a couple of weeks. This is possible because large vessels do not go to the head, and the nervous system does not suffer seriously after such damage.
Experiments with high levels of radiation have shown that this factor is not able to destroy them. Therefore, cockroaches will be our neighbors for a long time and, quite possibly, will outlive humanity.
For such adaptability to external conditions, the cockroach tops the ranking of the most amazing insects on the planet.
They are voracious, hardy and ubiquitous - these are not all the interesting facts about insects. Want to know more? A selection of 15 reliable information from the life of representatives of the largest class of animals on Earth will help you with this.
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There are a huge variety of insects in nature, many of which have very interesting and unusual shapes. A strange and bizarre appearance is necessary for insects mainly for camouflage: to blend into the environment, hide from predators, or use the element of surprise in an attack.
These are small insects whose distinctive feature are outgrowths of the most incredible shape located on the back. They can be in the form of horns, ridges, balls, spikes, horns, etc. These “structures” sometimes exceed the size of the humpback itself. Actually, because of them, this insect got its name. Meet the most unpleasant insects on our planet. Brazilian humpback or Bocydium globulare
Evolution made the Brazilian humpback so ugly for a reason. The surreal appearance of the insect scares away predators. Quasi-bumps in the form of antennas, at the end of which there are balls similar to eyes, are actually chitinous layers that protect the humpback from attacks by predators. Yes, these are the harsh realities of the wild. The uglier and scarier you look, the more likely you are to survive.
We've all heard about bedbugs and how some of them smell terrible and others feed on human blood, like the bed bug. This is true. What do you say when you learn that there are bedbugs up to 15 centimeters in length living in the world? True, they won’t climb into your bed, but while swimming in the pond they may accidentally bite you. We are talking about giant water bugs.
Being one of the largest species of praying mantis, the devil's flower is also the strangest. That says a lot when it comes to praying mantises. Females of this species reach a length of up to 13 cm centimeters, and in the process of evolution they acquired a different set of natural flowers, which allows them to imitate a type of orchid called the “devil's flower”.
Although this insect looks more like the result of a very strange genetic experiment involving a cross between a scorpion and a wasp, the “sting” is actually nothing more than the genitals of a fly.
However, thanks to this feature, the insect looks very strange. These insects can be found all over the world and have lived on earth for a very long time, dating back to the Mesozoic era.
In fact, they are believed to be the ancestors of most of the moths and butterflies living in the world today.
The larvae of the diving beetle (Dytiscus) are one of the largest predators among the entire population of freshwater bodies.
A rare case of extraintestinal digestion is observed in diving beetle larvae. Having grabbed prey (insect larvae, tadpoles, small fish, etc.) with its mandibles, the larva then plunges them deep into the victim’s body and pours digestive juice through the channels; The liquid formed after digestion of prey tissue is absorbed by the larva into the pharyngeal cavity through channels in the mandibles. After some time, only the outer coverings remain of the victim.
The caterpillars of this butterfly are carriers of a wide range of colors, as well as very dangerous-looking hair. Most predators prefer to stay away from them. The butterfly lives in the southern part of the USA. It is worth noting that the color of the caterpillar changes depending on age and some environmental factors. The caterpillar feeds mainly on Mexican legumes that grow in Mexico City, Texas and Arizona.
Phrynes, also known as tailless whip scorpions and whip spiders, are a medium-sized order of flagellated spiders found in tropical regions around the globe. Phryns are found in completely different sizes: the length of the leg span ranges from 5 cm to 50 cm. Their appearance is very frightening, but Phryns are completely harmless to humans. They are very shy; when exposed to light, the phrine freezes, but whenever possible it runs away and hides.
A small winged crocodile crawling through trees or sitting on a flower surprises people and alarms predators. Of course, this is not a crocodile, but just a small (up to 9 cm) Suriname lanternfly (Fulgora laternaria). The head of this insect has an unusual shape, resembling the head of a crocodile in profile. On the wings of the lantern there are so-called false eyes. Thus, this lantern has two deterrents in its “arsenal”: if the large head does not frighten the predator, you can always use its “big-eyed” wings.
These nomadic ants mainly live in East and Central Africa, but are also found in tropical Asia. Insects live in colonies that can number up to 20 million individuals, all of them blind. They make their journeys with the help of pheromones. The colony does not have a permanent place of residence, wandering from place to place. During their movement to feed the larvae, insects attack all invertebrate animals. Among such ants there is a special group - soldiers. They are the ones who can sting, for which they use their hook-shaped jaws, and the size of such individuals reaches 13 mm. Soldiers' jaws are so strong that in some places in Africa they are even used to secure stitches. The wound may remain closed for as long as 4 days. Usually, after a Siafu bite, the consequences are minimal; you don’t even need to call a doctor. It is true that it is believed that young and elderly people are especially sensitive to the bites of such ants, and deaths from complications after contact have been observed. As a result, every year, according to statistics, from 20 to 50 people die from these insects. This is facilitated by their aggressiveness, especially when defending their colony, which a person can accidentally attack.
The giant camel spider lives in Egypt and other eastern countries. Despite all the myths and rumors, in reality this insect is only 15 cm in size. In fact, the camel spider is not even a spider, but a salpuga, which is a separate order belonging to the class of arachnids. The salpuga's body consists of an abdomen and cephalothorax with large chelicerae, which produce a specific sound - chirping. The camel spider is also called the Egyptian giant or wind scorpion. Camel spiders are very fast and can run at speeds of 16 km/h. These desert dwellers have strong jaws that measure a third of their body length. For humans, a salpuga bite is not fatal and not very painful. Like other types of spiders, the camel spider also injects digestive juices into the body of the victim. The camel spider became an Internet sensation during the military operations in Iraq. Then the networks began to talk about the special bloodthirstiness of these insects and publish frightening photographs, which created the impression that the salpuga was half the size of an adult.
The Pink Maple Butterfly is known for its vibrant pink and yellow coloration and hairy body.
These butterflies have a small wingspan: 32-44 mm in males and 40-50 mm in females. Males have more active antennae to detect pheromones.
Their caterpillars feed on various types of maple: red maple, silver maple, sugar maple, but adults do not eat at all.
Pink maple butterflies are native to the eastern regions of North America. These are nocturnal insects, they are active in the first third of the night.
Another strange species of insects that look very strange in their “teenage” period. The caterpillar of such a butterfly looks like a piece of felt that someone accidentally dropped. In addition, all the fibers of this caterpillar are extremely poisonous, so it is better not to touch them - it will be very painful. It could all end in a hospital bed.
This insect has a rather strongly flattened body and its appearance resembles nothing more than an ordinary leaf. at the same time, it stands out for its bright color, so that predators generally consider one of the strangest insects not as prey, but rather as an ordinary leaf of a tree. The body can be up to 10 mm long; on its sides there is a pair of rather sharp outgrowths, with the help of which the female of this species lays her offspring. The creature may not look athletic, but in case of danger it can move in very large leaps. In addition, this insect can fly quite well over not very long distances. She has translucent porches for these purposes. This creature is not very good for trees, because it can cause serious harm. She lays her eggs in long slits that she herself makes in the twigs. Here is some information about this creature. It doesn’t have any special properties, so I don’t see much point in describing it. It only has an extraordinary appearance, so it is on the list of the strangest insects.
This mutyllid insect is not actually an ant, but a German wasp. Female mutilids do not have wings and resemble giant hairy ants in appearance. They live in Chile, where they received the nickname cow ant and cow killer for their extremely painful and sometimes fatal stings.
