What did I discover about insects. Interesting facts from the life of insects

At first glance, it seems that insects do not look very aesthetically pleasing and they cannot be interesting. But, despite the fact that they surround us and we see them every day, we know very little about these amazing creatures and their habitat. The whole planet is filled with insects, they are quite hardy, adapt well to environment. Every year, scientists discover thousands of new species of insects. The following information will be of interest to young children, 7th grade students who study this topic in the school curriculum, as well as adults who love nature. We present interesting facts about insects.

Different types

Mosquitoes mainly feed on plant sap, and only females drink blood in order to obtain protein for the birth of offspring. According to statistics, people with the second and third blood groups, as well as overweight and pregnant women, are more likely to bite. The eggs are very viable, they are quite resistant to weather conditions. The danger is represented by malarial mosquitoes, which carry a deadly infection. In many countries, they are trying to destroy these seemingly pests. But they are also food for many birds, bats, and therefore occupy an important place in nature.

The most big butterfly- agrippa (thisalia agrippina) lives in Latin America. The wings reach a span of 30 centimeters. The acetosia butterfly is considered the smallest, it has the smallest wings, only 2 millimeters in span, lives in the UK. For a child, the story about butterflies is very interesting, you can talk about these insects for a long and exciting time, accompanying the story with colorful pictures.

Ants are considered the most ancient of insects, they appeared about 100 million years ago and have not changed much since then. They are able to adapt to different terrain, different climates. Ants have a very active lifestyle, they need to make a lot of effort to feed themselves. Ants can carry loads much heavier than their own weight. Sleep several hours a day, and sleep lasts about one minute, several hours are gained for dozens of times when this insect stops to sleep.

Poisonous caterpillar Lonomia. Its habitat is tropical forests. She has a bright color, which indicates danger, the spikes on her body contain a lethal dose of poison. Touching it can be fatal.

The cockroach is very tenacious. Without a head, he can live for several days. These insects began to disappear from houses, European-quality repairs are to blame for this - cockroaches do not tolerate the smell of the emulsion that is used to paint the walls.

A desert locust can eat as much as it weighs in a day. Lives in Africa and Asia. Every day their flocks are destroyed a large number of harvest.

Interesting information

Interesting Facts about insects:

• do not have a skeleton, but beetles have an exoskeleton - an external hard coating that makes the body rigid;
• a tick can live without food for many years, but when it is full, it increases in size tenfold;
• a flea can jump up to 30 centimeters, which is many times its body size.

The venom of a bee is an acid, while that of a wasp is an alkali. Despite the weakness of bee venom, thousands of people die from their bite every year - death can occur from allergies, a bite in the throat, an attack by a whole swarm of bees (African bees are especially dangerous, they are very aggressive). A newborn bee does not know how to make honey, it is taught by older bees. If the bees feel threatened, they sting, after which the sting breaks out of their body and they die. When the beekeepers smoke bees, they, sensing danger, begin to collect honey under their belly and take it out of the hive. The abdomen becomes in a position where it is impossible to use the sting, so the bee cannot sting.

There are Dorylus healer ants, in whose body there is a substance that heals deep wounds, this property is used in folk medicine.

The dragonfly has dexterous and independent wings, thanks to which it can move in different directions, even backwards. Vision is arranged so that the insect can look at 360 degrees. The dragonfly lays eggs in the water, the larvae that appear are predators and can even hunt fish fry. Before reaching adulthood, the dragonfly molts more than 15 times.

There are billions of insects on earth. Despite the fact that many of them are considered pests, they all occupy their own niche in nature and benefit simply by their existence.

The most interesting facts about insects

2. Scientists believe that from 2 to 8 million species live on Earth.

3. Every year, scientists discover more than 7,000 new species of insects.

4. Representatives of many species of rare insects fell into the hands of researchers only once.

5. Insects appeared about 400 million years ago and survived not only dinosaurs, but also several global cataclysms.

Ant

6. In the natural environment, the life span of an ant is approximately one year. But in the laboratory, these insects live even 4, or even all 7 years, males and 20 years - females.

7. Insects do not have a skeleton - this role is played by an external exoskeleton made of chitin.

8. In Thailand, insects are actively used in cooking.

9. Most poisonous spider, according to the compilers of the popular collection of the Guinness Book of Records, is a "Brazilian wanderer." The insect got its nickname for excessive activity.

10. On the border of Thailand and Malaysia, a grasshopper was caught, the length of which was 25.5 centimeters. This insect made long jumps of 4.6 meters.

brownie cricket

11. Crickets are very unusual insects. Their ears are located on their front legs.

12. The chemical composition of bee venom is acidic, and that of wasps is alkaline.

13. One of the oldest insects on the planet are ants. Their age is 100-130 million years. It is also interesting that, having survived to this day, they have practically not changed in appearance. The reason for this adaptability, according to scientists, lies in the social lifestyle.

14. An interesting creature lives in the African Namib desert - a rolling spider called Carparachneaureoflava. To protect against its main enemies - road wasps - it digs very deep pits, along the slopes of which it rolls like a wheel from attacks. The speed in this case is 1 meter per second, which equals 44 revolutions.

15. The strongest insect is an ant, it is able to lift a weight that exceeds its own many dozens of times.

common mosquito

16. One of the reasons for the prevalence of mosquitoes in the environment is the greater viability of their eggs. Unfavorable conditions for the offspring of insects do not care. Mosquito eggs can lie in cold, dry soil for up to 3 years, and then come to life with the onset of heat, when the ground becomes wet.

17. Mosquitoes feed on plant sap and nectar. But some of them suck blood not from a feeling of hunger, but to obtain the proteins necessary for bearing offspring, therefore only females are bloodsuckers, and males are absolute vegetarians.

18. In one jump, a flea is able to jump 33 centimeters. If we translate such an achievement on us, a person would jump as much as 213 meters.

19. An amazing example of vitality is a cockroach. With his head torn off, he can live for weeks. To respond to touch and move, the insect does not need a brain. Instead, the basic reflex functions are performed by accumulations of the nervous tissue of the body.

20. Slightly fall short of the title of "the smallest butterflies" radiculosis, living in the Canary Islands.

desert locust

21. The most voracious insect in the world is the desert locust. This pest, which lives in Asia and Africa, eats as much daily as it weighs.

22. There are butterflies that in one day manage to be born, leave offspring and die. Such butterflies do not need to look for food, since their digestive organs are filled with air.

Weevil

23. Clothes in a wardrobe are eaten not by an adult moth, but by its larvae.

24. Some of the ants not only hunt, but also livestock. Ants-cattle breeders "graze" mealybugs, leafhoppers, aphids, contain homoptera in "stalls". The reward for the labors is the sweet excrement of "cattle", going to food.

25. A swarm of locusts can include up to fifty billion individuals.

Maybug in flight

26. Scientists still cannot understand how beetles fly, because according to all the laws of physics and aerodynamics, they should not fly.

27. The wingspan of only 2 millimeters has the smallest butterfly - acetozea. You can see these nocturnal babies in the UK.

28. The largest spider on Earth is the goliath tarantula (blonde theraphosa). The insect lives in the tropics of Latin America, eats medium-sized snakes, mice, frogs and lizards. The size of the body of a spider with straightened legs is 25–28 centimeters.

29. Fleas can jump a distance equal to 120-130 lengths of their own body.

30. The main occupation of Amazon ants is wars, during which they capture pupae of strangers. In the future, the captives are used as slaves. The warlike ants themselves are not able to feed themselves, since they cannot organize life.

Caterpillar - butterfly larva - lonomy

31. Not only spiders are poisonous, but also caterpillars. The most dangerous butterfly larva is the lonomia, which lives in the American rainforests. She has a calm disposition and nondescript color, but the spikes on the body of the caterpillar contain the strongest toxin that acts as an anticoagulant.

32. The victim of a female mosquito is determined by smell: they like fat people, athletes, pregnant women, owners of the second and third blood groups.

Water beetle

33. Despite the fact that the female mosquito is forced to use the blood, she chooses the “dish” meticulously. Females bite women more often than men, and blondes are preferred to brunettes.

34. Despite their size, flies can fly at speeds of up to 22.4 kilometers per hour. These insects masterfully dodge a deadly fly swatter because they plan well.

35. Butterflies taste with the help of their paws - this is where they have taste buds.

Dragonfly

36. Most fast insect on the planet - a dragonfly, it can reach speeds of almost 60 kilometers per hour.

37. Every year, about a quarter of the world's crop is eaten by insects.

38. Mosquitoes are really capable of drinking all the blood from a person. Another thing is that there should be a lot of mosquitoes, as many as usually do not happen at once in one place.

39. Some species of dragonflies live only about a day.

40. Each eye of a dragonfly consists of about twenty thousand small lenses.

common praying mantis

41. The only insect that can turn its head to the side is the praying mantis.

42. An interesting way of hunting is used by gladiator spiders that live in Australia. They weave a web in the shape of a square, holding its ends between their front paws. When the prey is caught in the web, the spider covers it with a web in one quick movement.

ladybug

43. Every year more people die from bee stings than from snakes.

44. Ants of the genus Dorylus are used by the indigenous people of Africa for cuts and for surgical purposes. They heal wounds with their sting.

45. A swarm of 50 million desert locusts destroys food in a day, which would be enough for 1,000 people for six months.

honey bee

46. ​​The buzz of a honey bee is created due to the very fast flapping of its wings - about 11,400 strokes in one minute.

47. In one day, an entire swarm of 50 billion locusts eats 4 times more food than the inhabitants of the New York metropolis all together.

48. Lantern or alligator beetle lives in Central America. It got its name because of the unusual shape of the head.

49. The body temperature of crickets can be measured in degrees Celsius by their chirping. To do this, count the number of sounds they make per minute, divide this number by two, then add nine and divide by two again.

50. Spiders are known to feed on other insects. And the weight of their victims in one year is more than the weight of all the people who live on the planet.

The class of insects is the most numerous on Earth: it has about one million species. Some of its representatives are considered the oldest inhabitants of the planet. They inhabited it 400 million years ago. This class managed to survive and survive in the conditions of cataclysms that have happened more than once on Earth. Due to the peculiarities of life, insects today are a progressive group of animals.
The information about insects presented in the specialized literature is striking in the number of unusual and little known facts. The same sources indicate that the life of wildlife on the planet has not been fully studied.

The most important units of the class

The life of insects living on the planet is under the close attention of zoologists. For the convenience of studying animals, they were divided into groups.

The basis for the classification was the following features:

• the nature of development - direct (without metamorphosis), indirect (with metamorphosis);
• features of the structure of the oral apparatus - sucking, gnawing, licking, gnawing-sucking;
• the presence and structure of the wings.

Hymenoptera

Bright representatives of this order are bumblebees, bees, wasps, ants. They are characterized by a full cycle of development, the presence of two pairs of reticulate wings, sucking and lacquering mouthparts. These animals received another name - social insects.

Their way of life has always been interesting to man. Today it is known about the existence of twenty thousand species of bees, many of which are domesticated by people to obtain such a valuable product as honey.
But not everyone knows that these insects have to work hard throughout their lives. In order for 500 grams of honey to be formed in the combs, one bee needs to make 10 million flights from the hive to the flower and back. At the same time, a characteristic buzzing is heard. It appears for the reason that insects cut through the air, making frequent flapping of their wings. Sometimes their frequency reaches 11,500 strokes per minute. But this is not a record either. Stinging insects are known that are capable of performing more than 62,000 wing beats in one minute.
A person, having studied the habits of honey bees, has learned to create favorable conditions for them in order to receive beekeeping products. best quality and in large volumes.
Wasps and bumblebees are also social insects. Their families do not live long - only one summer. Only the young uterus remains for the winter, the old one dies. Together with her, at the end of summer, males and worker insects end their lives.
Hymenoptera are excellent pollinators.

cockroach

Red and black cockroaches are the main representatives of the detachment. They settle in those places where a person ceases to care about the cleanliness of his home. These dangerous insects may lead to the spread of some infectious diseases. Cockroaches enter places where human food is stored and pollute them with waste products.

A female cockroach can lay about two million eggs a year. From them, white small insects, similar to adults, are born. After a while, they molt, acquiring the color of adults.

Lepidoptera

All types of insects belong to the detachment and always relate to the life of this particular group of representatives of the fauna. Butterflies vary in wing color and size. For example, there are insects that are sometimes mistaken for birds - such is the wingspan of these butterflies.

Some species are only nocturnal. Butterflies are known to taste food in an unusual way - with their hind legs. The structure of their wings has become the subject of study by more than one scientific laboratory.

Orthoptera

Locusts, crickets and grasshoppers belong to the detachment of this group and are distinguished by an incomplete development cycle (without transformation), the presence of a gnawing mouth apparatus, two pairs of special wings, which scientists call elytra.

The most dangerous insects of this order are locusts. The species has the ability to mass reproduction. Gathering in huge swarms (the number can reach 50 billion individuals), locusts move over long distances. All vegetation along the path of hordes of insects is destroyed. A swarm of locusts eats in a day the same amount of food that a city of many millions of people, such as New York, will need for the same period. The damage caused by locusts is in some cases irreversible.

beetles

The detachment has another name - beetles. Characteristic representatives include the rhinoceros beetle, May beetle, ladybug, ground beetle, weevil and many others. The life of insects of this detachment is full of mysteries, secrets and legends. About 400 thousand are known on earth. The largest representative of the detachment - the titan beetle - reaches a length of seventeen centimeters. Species are also known, the length of which is several millimeters.

New interesting facts about insects of this group regularly appear in the literature. So, for example, the stag beetle grows up to eight centimeters in length. Its larvae develop in rotting tree stumps for five years. During this time, they reach large sizes - about 14 centimeters.
Many beetles are pests. They destroy the landings cultivated plants, woodland, food, wood products, leather and other natural materials.

It is known that on Earth is a dragonfly. She is able to move at a speed of fifty-seven kilometers per hour.
There are countries where insect dishes are a real delicacy. Food from fried crickets and locusts is rich in proteins, carbohydrates and other useful substances.
Grasshoppers can jump over forty times their body length.
Most house flies live in the area where they were born, but there are cases when insects move more than forty kilometers from their native places. It turns out that flies cannot resist the force of the wind and travel along with air currents.
Scientists have found that, on average, about 26 billion different insects live in an area equal to a square kilometer, which differ from each other in their way of life, food preferences, ways of development,
modern science cannot know everything about insects for the reason that there are still unknown species. But even those that are described by scientists have not yet been fully studied. The world of insects is the most mysterious and little-studied part of wildlife.
Interesting facts about insects, their knowledge teaches a person to treat nature correctly, understand its laws, and not harm the world around.

1. Insects are the first living creatures that appeared on Earth, more than 400 million years ago. Since then, they have survived five massive cataclysms and have proven to be more tenacious than tyrannosaurs.

2. Now there are about 20 thousand species of bees in the world. And to produce 500 g of honey, one bee needs to fly 10 million times from the hive to the flower and back.

3. A female cockroach is capable of laying more than two million eggs in a year. In addition, a cockroach can live for nine days without a head.

4. The weight of insects that all spiders on Earth eat in a year is more than the total weight of all people living on the planet.

5. There are about 35,000 known species of spiders, and new ones are being discovered all the time.

6. The blood of snow scorpions contains antifreeze, thanks to which they can withstand temperatures down to minus 6 degrees Celsius. However, if such a scorpion is taken in hand, it will die.

7. The male earwig has two penises, each of which is longer than the earwig itself. These organs are very fragile and break easily, which is why the insect is born with a spare.

8. Ants never sleep. There are almost as many species of ants (8800) as birds (9000) in the world.

9. Butterflies taste food with their hind legs. And the color of their wings is created by tiny overlapping scales that reflect light.

10. Aborigines cook witchetti tree larvae by rolling them in hot ashes. Thus, they taste like an omelette.

11. Bees have five eyes. Three at the top of the head and two in front. The honey bee flaps its wings at a speed of 11,400 times per minute, creating a characteristic buzz.

12. There are about 400 thousand known species of beetles. The size of the largest, titanium beetle, can reach 17 cm.

13. Dragonflies are the fastest flying insects. Their speed reaches 57 km / h.

14. Witchetti larvae are best eaten alive. Ten large larvae provide an adult with all proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

15. Insects are a food rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. In Thailand, they are considered a delicacy, where fried crickets and locusts are popular.

16. Amarobia spider babies eat their mother after birth. Some females begin to devour males during mating. Thus, the deceased father becomes food for his offspring.

17. In crickets, the ears are located on the front legs, in addition, you can determine the temperature from crickets: to do this, you need to count the number of chirps per minute, divide by two, then add nine and divide by two again. The result is the temperature in degrees Celsius.

18. Approximately a third of all insects are carnivorous and most hunt for food, rather than feed on carrion and waste.

19. Grasshoppers can jump over 40 times their body length, and a flea over 130 times its length.

20. On the planet, more than 26 billion insects live in every square mile in habitable areas. According to scientists, there are still 5-10 million species unknown to science.

21. Tiny stinging insects, biting midges, flap their wings at an incredible speed of 62,760 times per minute.

23. House flies usually live near the places where they hatched, but it was found that under the influence of the wind they can move up to 45 km away.

24. The largest night moth in the world is Attacus Altas. With a wingspan of 30 cm, it is often mistaken for a bird.

25. A desert locust swarm can contain 50 billion insects. Since each locust can eat an amount of food equal to its own weight, in a day this swarm eats four times as much food by weight as all New Yorkers.