Record holders in the world of insects

Community and Forum → Insects biology and faunistics → Record holders in the world of insects

niyaz, 31.07.2011 20:17

In this topic, we identify insects that have distinguished themselves in any characteristics among their own kind. Adding new record holders (you can do it right along with the photo).

The longest beetle is the titan woodcutter (Titanus giganteus). Reaching a length of 16.7 cm.

The smallest beetle belongs to the Ptiliidae family. The smallest representative reaches a length of 0.21 mm.

The most powerful chemical weapon has a Bombardier crackling (Brachinus crepitans). In case of danger, the beetle secretes a poisonous liquid from the anal glands. The ejection rate reaches 500 times per second, and the temperature reaches 100°C.

The long-legged Harlequin (Acrocinus longimanus) has the longest legs among beetles. The length of the front legs reaches 12 cm. With their help, they hold the female during mating.

The golden chrysalis (Buprestis aurulenta) has the highest life expectancy among beetles. Once, it took 47 years for one such insect to develop.

The strongest insect is the caloed taurus (Onthophagus taurus), which can lift 1,141 times its own weight

The grey barbel (Acanthocinus aedilis) has the longest whiskers relative to its body. The male's whiskers exceed the body length by 4 times.

The heaviest beetle is the Rhinoceros Acteon (Megasoma acteon) from South America. A large male weighs up to 205 grams.

The South African weevil (Antliarhinus zamiae)has the longest rostrum relative to its body. With a body length of 1 cm, the rostrum is extended by 2 cm.

The fastest running beetle is the ground beetle (cicindela hudsoni). On the ground, it can run at a speed of 9 km/h.

The fastest acceleration of the body is produced by the red-tailed Click beetle (Athous haemorrhoidalis). When jumping out of a prone position, the beetle produces an acceleration equal to 400 g.

The largest ant is Dorylus fulvus. The uterus reaches a length of up to 5 cm.

The longest working ant without taking into account the length of the mandibles is Dinoponera gigantea from Brazil. Its body length is 3.3 cm.

The longest working ant is the bulldog ant (Myrmecia brevinoda) from Australia. It reaches a length of 3.7 cm.

The most heat - resistant ant is the silver runner ant (Cataglyphis bombycinus). They live in the Sahara Desert and calmly tolerate temperatures of 46 degrees Celsius.

The largest column of ants consists of stray ants of the genus Dorylus. The column of these ants can reach a length of 100 meters and a width of 1.5 meters. In such a column, there can be up to 20 million ants.

The fastest movement of the mandibles among insects is performed by (Odontomachus bauri). A record speed of mandible snapping was recorded for animals: from 126 to 230 km / h, in 130 microseconds. With the help of its jaws, the ant can jump to a height of up to 20 cm.

The biggest wasp is Pepsis heros. Body length up to 5.7 cm, wingspan – 11.4 cm.

The largest hornet's nest belongs to the German wasp (Vespula germanica). In April 1963, a nest with a length of 3.7 m and a diameter of 1.75 m was found.

The lightest wasp is the Water Rider (Caraphractus cinctus). This rider weighs only 0.005 milligrams, and the weight of her eggs is 0.0002 mg.

The largest bee is Megachile pluto. Body length reaches 39 mm, wingspan 63 mm.

The most dangerous bee is the Africanized killer bee (Apis mellifera scutellata). According to statistics, since 1969 in Brazil, more than two hundred people have died from African bee stings, and several thousand have suffered-they were seriously bitten.

The smallest bee is Trigona duckei. The body length is only 2-5 mm.

The most voracious caterpillar of the night peacock moth (Antheraea polyphemus). In the first 56 days of its life, the caterpillar eats vegetation and increases from its original weight by 86,000 times.

The fastest flight among butterflies is that of the death's head hawk moth (Acherontia atropos). The flight speed reaches 54 km / h.

The smallest wingspan among day butterflies in the pigeon-gnome (Oraidium barberae) from South Africa. The wingspan of males is only 10-15 mm.

The largest colonies among butterflies are formed by the Danaus monarch (Danaus plexippus). Every year in November, these butterflies gather in a flock of 300 million individuals before migrating.

A moth (Trifurcula ridiculosa) from the Canary Islands has the smallest wingspan among moths. This moth has a female wingspan of only 3.8-4.1 mm.

The largest wingspan among diurnal butterflies is found in the Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae). The wingspan of the female reaches 28 cm.

The most frost-resistant butterfly is the Greenland bear (Gynaephora groenlandica). The caterpillars of this butterfly can survive temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius.

Madagascar hawk moth (Xanthopan morgani) has the longest proboscis among butterflies. To reach the nectars of flowers, the proboscis can expand up to 28 cm in length.

Thysania Agrippina from South America has the largest wingspan among moths. The wingspan of the specimen caught in 1934 was 30.8 cm

The Southern Giant Yoke (Austrophlebia costalis) has the fastest flight among dragonflies. The flight speed reaches 58 km/h.

The smallest dragonfly is Agriocnemis naia from Burma. The wingspan is only 17.6 mm, the body length is 18 mm

The largest wingspan of dragonflies is found in the yoke (Tetracanthagyna plagiata) from Southeast Asia. The wingspan reaches 20 cm.

The longest dragonfly (Megaloprepus caerulatus). The body length reaches 12 cm.

The largest extinct dragonfly is Meganeura monyi. This dragonfly lived in France 300 million years ago, its wingspan reached 75 cm.

The heaviest grasshopper is the giant veta (Deinacrida heteracantha). This grasshopper reaches a length of 90 mm and weighs 71 grams.

Macrolyristes imperator has the largest wingspan among grasshoppers. The wingspan reaches 27.4 cm.

The largest two – winged bird is the hero midas (Gauromydas heros) from South America. The body length is 6 cm the wingspan reaches 10 cm

The longest legs among the two-winged ones are found in the long-legged mosquito (Holorusia brobdignagia) from Asia. The length of the legs can reach 23 cm.

The largest cicada is the Malayan Imperial cicada (Pomponia imperatoria). It reaches a body length of 10 cm and a wingspan of 20 cm.

The longest growing period among insects is that of the seventeen-year-old cicada (Magicicada septemdesim). It takes 17 years to turn from a larva into an adult insect, during which time the larva passes through 25-30 larval stages.

The longest mantis is the Giant Mantis (Ischnomantis gigas) from Africa. The body length of an adult female reaches 17 cm.

The smallest mantis is the pygmy mantis (Bolbe pygmaea) from Australia. The body length is only 1 cm.

The largest hemipteran is the Giant Belastoma (Lethocerus maximus). It reaches a length of 115 mm and a wingspan of 216 mm.

The largest cockroach (Macropanesthia rhinoceros). It reaches a length of 8.3 cm and weighs up to 36 grams.

The largest earwig is the giant earwig (Labidura herculeana) from Saint Helena. It reaches a length of 8.3 cm.

The longest insect is the Kalimantan stick insect (Phobaeticus chani). Reaches a length of 56.7 cm

The most prolific insect is the Cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae). In a year, one aphid can theoretically produce offspring with a total weight of 822 million tons.

This post was edited by niyaz - 31.08.2011 23: 08

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02.08.2011 10:18, DYNASTES

niyaz, you may be offended, but where did you get this collection of unsubstantiated facts? When I read it, sometimes I just "cried" from the nonsense that is written there. And as I suspect everything is rooted in a clumsy English translation plus wandering around the vast expanses of the web:

1) The longest beetle – Hercules (Dynastes Hercules). The length from the tip of the abdomen to the tip of the mandibles is 19 cm. "Do you know what the mandibles are and where they are in this beetle?" if you follow the logic of the statement, it turns out that the length of the beetle from the tip of the abdomen to the oral apparatus is 19 cm, and if you measure the horn on the pronotum, then what-all 30 cm will be? The beetle's horns are not mandibles at all - but simply outgrowths of its integuments. And the maximum confirmed size of this AI beetle is no more than 16.5 cm.

2) The highest life expectancy among beetles is found in the golden chrysalis (Buprestis aurulenta). One such insect lived in captivity for 47 years. Ah, almost 50 years in captivity....who only supported her? True, this refers to the case from the United States, when this type of golden beetle came out of the wood of a wooden house that was built 47 years ago and that the development of the larva took just these 47 years due to unfavorable conditions and food for development.

3) Madagascar hawk moth (Xanthopan morgani) has the longest tongue among butterflies. Show me at least one butterfly with a tongue. It should be written - proboscis.

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02.08.2011 12:57, niyaz

DYNASTES, thanks for the clarification. I am not an expert on insects, but an amateur, so I can make mistakes in terms. And I do not pretend to the absolute reliability of the data provided, I created the topic in order to jointly identify where the truth is and where the fiction is. By the way, your suspicions about the sources of information are correct.

1) Aren't beetle horns modified mandibles? For example, the antlers of a stag beetle are also mandibles. Yes, apparently 19 cm is still too much, so it seems that the longest reliably measured beetle without any reservations should still be considered a woodcutter-titan.
2) Thank you for explaining the life span of the gold coin.
3) Yes, it is more correct to say proboscis, just as the paw speaks in relation to insects, and not the leg.

02.08.2011 14:51, Victor Titov

1) Aren't beetle horns modified mandibles? For example, the antlers of a stag beetle are also mandibles.

In the stag beetle (as in other members of the horned beetle family (Lucanidae) - yes. But, for example, representatives of the Scarabaeidae family, to which the Dynastes hercules you have mentioned belongs, do not: they have "horns" - these are outgrowths of the pronotum and head, like other representatives of the Dynastinae subfamily, as well as a number of dung beetles (Scarabaeinae ).

3) Yes, it is more correct to say proboscis, just as the paw speaks in relation to insects, and not the leg.

Why is that? Insects, like a number of other animals, have legs

, and the paw is only the last distal part of the insect legs that articulates with the lower leg.

This post was edited by Dmitrich-02.08.2011 15: 33

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04.08.2011 16:44, niyaz

I accidentally stumbled upon this one, I don't understand where you get these records at all

From various books, mostly in English. For example, from the one given in the second message, you can find the following highscores:

The carpenter bee Xylocopini auripennis has the largest egg among insects. Egg length - 16.5 mm diameter-3 mm.

The deepest insect larvae of the mosquito-woodlouse Sergentia koschowi. The larva of this mosquito was discovered in Lake Baikal at a depth of 1360 meters.

The most distant migrations among insects can be made by the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. In 1988, the locust flew across the Atlantic Ocean and covered 4,500 km.

The most frequent wingspan among insects is produced by midges of the genus Forcipomyia. The frequency of wing flaps reaches 1046 hertz.

The loudest insect is the cicada Brevisana Brevis. The average sound pressure level at a distance of 50 cm reaches 106.7 dB.

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