Insect and Bug Trivia
Insect trivia facts. Most people would consider the largest insect to be the bulkiest, in this case the Acteon Beetle (Megasoma acteon) from South America the males of which can be 9cms long by 5cms wide by 4cms thick Insect trivia and facts.
A one-day old baby cockroach, about the size of a spec of dust, can run almost as fast as its parents.
More human deaths have been attributed to fleas than all the wars ever fought. As carriers of the bubonic plague, fleas were responsible for killing one-third of the population of Europe in the 14th century.
Bees must collect the nectar from two thousand flowers to make one tablespoonful of honey.
A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.
Ants cannot chew their food, they move their jaws sideways, like scissors, to obtain the juices from the food.
There are more beetles than any other kind of creature in the world.
Crickets hear through their knees.
Most spiders belong to the orb weaver spider family, Family Aranidae. This is pronounced "A Rainy Day."
It is a misdemeanor to kill or threaten a butterfly -- so says City Ordinance No. 352 in Pacific Grove, California.
A flea expert is a pullicologist.
Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.
The Madagascan Hissing Cockroach is one of the few insects who give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs.
In its entire lifetime, the average worker bee produces 1/12th teaspoon of honey.
Tapeworms range in size from about 0.04 inch to more than 50 feet in length.
Megaphragma caribea from Guadeloupe, measuring out at a huge 0.17 mm long, is now probably the smallest known insect in the world.
Scientist have recorded the otherwise inconspicuous Springtails at densities as high 100,000,000 per square meter in the ordinary farm soil of Iowa USA.
In Africa swarms of Orthoptera ( Desert Locusts Schistocerca gregaria) may contain as many as 28,000,000,000 individuals.
The highest sustained ground speed recorded is that of the black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) which flies at speeds of between 97 and 113 km/h (60-70 mph)
The dehydrated larvae of the African chironomid Polypedilum vanderplanki were able to withstand exposure to liquid helium (-270 C) for up to 5 min. with a 100% survival rate
The "long-tailed" South African Scorpion (Hadogenes troglodytes) reaches a length of over 8 inches, and is probably the longest scorpion in the world.
The average scorpion probably lives three to five years, but some species undoubtedly live at least 10-15 years.
The world's largest roach (which lives in South America) is six inches long with a one-foot wingspan.
A cockroach can live a week without its head. The roach only dies because without a mouth, it can't drink water and dies of thirst.
Roaches can live without food for a month, but will only survive a week without water.
The House Fly is often a carrier of diseases, such as typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and anthrax.
The complete life-cycle of a house fly takes from 10 to 21 days.