10 Unique Insects

I have always been fascinated by insects. They are simply everywhere; if an area is too cold, you will have insects that have adapted over time, survived and have developed their own characteristics to live there. If it’s too hot, you will have completely different types of insects that have evolved at specific places. Freezing, hot, humid, dry, you name it, weather conditions and temperature simply aren’t enough to get rid of insects.

A lot of female species lay thousands of eggs per day; so all you really need is a very small population that can survive at some place for a short time, and you will have a new set of insects living there and reproducing for a long time to come.

With so many of them out there, some insects really stand out of the crowd. These are some of the most unique insects of the world. Whether it is for their looks, their use, the way they are or the way they act, each of one of these insects has a set of traits that makes them unique.

The Most Beautiful Insect

Winner: Sunset Moth from  Madagascar

The wings of this insect actually don’t have any pigmentation! The colors that you are seeing are actually refraction of the light from micro-ribbon in the wings. This moth is actually active during the day, while most moths of the same family are active during the night. They are native to Madagascar and South America and their wings change color shifting from blue to gold-green and then to other shade of yellow as you change your viewing angle. As you may have imagined, this butterfly is very wanted by collectors.

Most Dangerous Ant

Winner: Black Bulldog Ant of Australia

Considering we all have seen ants and they are probably known for being totally inoffensive, this one not so much. It has been known to literally kill humans. They are dark brown and have black abdomen. They are the most primitive of all ants and are very aggressive. They are 1 inch in length and can go up to 2 inches in some case. As their name implies, they are found only in Australia and on top of being aggressive, they are very fast.

Fastest Flying Insect

Winner: Horse Fly

It’s fastest recorded speed has been up to 90 MPH. Not only is this insect very fast, but it also has great control and maneuvers in the air. It can turn and change directions at lightning speeds. Even though they go very fast, they don’t rely on these speeds hoping to just get lucky getting a prey, they know in advance their destination and what they will be doing. They also have huge eyes; so huge they are some of the biggest of all insects, and their vision cover almost a 360 degree angle!

Heaviest Insect

Winner: Goliath Beetle

Not only heavy, but also huge as you can notice. They come from the family of scarab beetles; the family of scarab beetles have over 30,000 species and scientists think there are as much that haven’t been discovered yet. The first specie appeared over 300 million years ago, and it’s the ability to adapt to the environment that these beetles have been around for so long. The Goliath Beetle likes to eat dead plant and measure 2 to 4-1/3 inches and weigh 3 to 3-1/2 oz. They play an important part in the ecosystem as a decomposer in the environment.

Most Annoying

Winner: No-See-Um

Zoomed


These are the very tiny flies that gather in groups and fly in no real directions. They can pass through very fine opening when doors or windows are shut. They live primarily where there are water sources. Only the females bite and suck out blood; it is to get proteins to develop their eggs.

Longest Insect

Winner: Giant Stick Insect

Yes, that thing is an insect! A giant stick insect measure 163 mm, and if counting when their legs are outstretched, they measure 295mm, almost a whole foot! And in some cases, they can even reach 20 inches. There are over 3000 species of stick insects found, and some of them even have wings and fly. Can you imagine something of this size flying in your living room. It is actually still a challenge to certain people as to how they can fly with such a big weight and small wings; great aerodynamics is the explanation.

Loudest Insect

Winner: Brevisana brevis

This specie of cicadas can be heard for over one quarter of a mile away. It is a real wonder of nature of how something so small can be so powerful to our ears. At close range, the noise can reach 120 dB. A comparative example would be a night in a discotheque, where the music usually reaches 100 dB.

Weirdest Shape

Winner: Thorn Bug

The size and color of this insect varies a lot, but usually, the adult thorn bug is about 0.5 inches high and of color green. They are found in South and Central America, Mexico, and southern Florida. This specie was almost unknown until almost 1950.

Longest Living Insect

Winner: Queen of Termites

The Queen of Termites has been known to live as long as 50 years. They have been on earth for over 200 million years. Termites eat dead wood and by themselves alone, cause more damages to homes than fire and storms. The queen lays between 5,000 to 7,000 eggs a day; that’s a lot of eggs for someone who can also live so long. Speaking of lifespan, there are, on the other hand, mayflies that can live as much as only an hour.

Most Destructive

Winner: Desert Locus

While the above termites do a lot of damage to homes, it is nothing compared to the destructiveness of the Desert Locus. They each eat about the equivalent mass of the weight of their body. They eat almost every sort of crop and vegetation: leaves, flowers, rice, fruits, vegetables, seeds, palms…you name it. 2003-2005 was one of the worst period for West Africa with the desert locus. The desert locus had invaded over 20 countries, the cost of fighting them were over $400 million and the estimated damages to the harvest were over $2.5 billion.

40 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing those insect pics. What a beautiful moth! How amazing the thorn bug is! All very interesting.

  2. smokey demon says:

    Thank you for the great pictures and text. I enjoyed them very much. However, I would like to, politely, disagree with you as to the most beautiful insect. My pick is the luna moth, but that is just my opinion.

  3. Mayflies live a lot longer than one hour. I think what you are referring to is the adult form, which emerges, breeds and dies. They spend almost all of their lives as an underwater larvae.

  4. Those are some awesome bugs. The killer ant made me shudder. I also agree with @smokeydemon in that “beautiful” is a very subjective term. But that is one gorgeous moth. Could you also please add the fastest insect, the ugliest insect, the most poisonous insect, the insect with the biggest jaws, and the most infectious (to humans), diseased insect?

  5. Wow .This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my whole life .
    Gordon benatte
    Kate middleton aka CATHERINE

  6. Ruth Woon says:

    I do agree that this blog has the most interesting insecs i never seen.I also have to admit that the sunset moth is the most beautiful in this webpage!

  7. i love all animals and insects so seeing those pics is so cool thxs

  8. bullet ant info is wrong. they are only dangerous is anaphylaxis is involved. the bullet ant is far worse.

  9. Sarah Price says:

    Thank yu for all that wonderful infomation! im a girl of 13 and since i was 4 i have been fasinted about these creatures! 🙂

  10. The pictures are very interesting.

  11. what are they in order???

  12. PLEASE help me! I live in southern California, specifically San Diego county-(city) Lakeside.

    I found on my outside screen door an insect that I can’t idenify. It is about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches long. It is brown-gray. it has 4 feet that it ” stands” on and two short ones in the front. It has a black head. It ” stands” at an angle on it’s rear feet. It looks like a broken twig. It is NOT a walking stick. I feel that it maybe a “caterpillar” of some type. I have touched it and it draws it’s head in so that the “twig” appears hollow. I has now been on my door for 3 days with no change to it’s appearance. PLEASE help me identify this courious “bug”.

  13. The Thorn bug is really the WEIRDEST SHAPED BUG EVER! And thx for the pics guys! I can use 1 of those bugs for my 5th grade report!

  14. Thanks you reallyb helped me with my homework.
    BEUATYFUL BUTTERFLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    THANKS

  15. thanks i m researching about insect and this site helped me a lot

  16. Thank you that can help me with my report.

  17. Great pics! The walking stick and scarab beetle were very interesting, I’d love to have the beetle for a pet!

  18. tacokitty says:

    thanks! this moth is perfect for meh project!

  19. can u put the scientific name on pleaze

  20. You helped me with my home work too, though the first time i saw the queen of termites, i thought I’d barf. Never mind, i still do

  21. The moth is so pretty it should be counted as a butterfly! I do secretly…. Muah ha ha!!!

  22. Whats with the stupid math question???????

  23. I am awesome says:

    Stupid math question is right

  24. Jane Eyre says:

    OMG THIS HELPED SO MUCH ON MY SCIENCE HW

  25. The butterfly is sooooooooooooo pretty!? I have never seen anything like it!??

  26. The insects are really unique and interesting.

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