5 Fun Facts About Insects

Although they lack one, insects are the backbone to all life and the sustainability of our planet. Insects of all sizes often fly and crawl under our radars, but play vital roles in our lives as pollinators, decomposers, and essential building blocks in almost all of the terrestrial ecosystems on our planet. Despite their abundance, there are some things about them that may still surprise you. Here are five insect facts that may change the way you think about our six-legged friends.

1. Despite what you’ve heard, cockroaches cannot survive a nuclear explosion.

You may have heard about the old myth that cockroaches would be the only survivors of a nuclear war, but that’s not quite true. For one, anything within about half a mile of ground zero would be instantly vaporized by the intense heat and pressure of a nuclear blast, leaving nothing behind. And while cockroaches do have a higher tolerance to radiation than humans, thanks to their slower rate of cell division, they’re still far from invincible. Over time, radiation damages DNA and disrupts molecular structures, leading to deadly mutations and a collapse in biodiversity. Even if a few insects initially survived, the resulting lack of food and the severe environmental conditions would make long term survival impossible. Radiation exposure also drastically reduces reproductive abilities, meaning any survivors would struggle to produce offspring and maintain their population.

2. Insects vs. Bugs. What’s the difference?
We often call anything small that crawls or flies a “bug”, but in entomology the term “bug” is only applied to true bugs. The term “true bug” refers to insects in the order Hemiptera which includes species like stink bugs, cicadas and aphids to name a few. These insects share unique characteristics such as specialized mouthparts made for piercing and sucking plant juices and other fluids. Unlike butterflies or beetles, which go through complete metamorphosis that includes a pupal stage, true bugs experience an incomplete metamorphosis consisting of just three stages: egg, nymph, adult. So, while we might call all insects “bugs”, only a select few earn the title of a true bug. 

3. Insects can have memories… Some even have personalities!
It may surprise you that insects are capable of forming memories. Though their brains are tiny, they are remarkably efficient. Insects can learn from experience, remember information, and even base their behaviors off of past experiences and from their peers. For example, honeybees can memorize the location of flowers and use landmarks to find their way back to these locations and their hives. Similarly, fruit flies have been shown to associate specific scents with rewards and dangers.  Research also shows that some insects can exhibit personality traits with some individuals being more active, bold, or exploratory than others from the same species. However, scientists are careful to distinguish these personality like traits to anthropomorphism (the tendency to assign human emotions and traits to non-human like things). While insects don’t experience the world in the same emotional or psychological way we do, these behavioral differences still highlight the sophistication of their nervous systems and the diversity of responses to the world around them. Overall, despite their size, their minds show an impressive blend of learning, instinct, and individuality, reminding us that intelligence comes in all sizes in the animal kingdom. 

4. Insects are anim

als

Insects are animals just like mammals, birds, and reptiles. Not only are they animals but estimates suggest that insects account for around 80% of all known animal species and more than 40% of all living species on Earth. That means when you see a little ant marching on the ground or a butterfly fluttering in the breeze, you’re actually witnessing the most dominant class of animal on the planet. Between their abundance and diversity, insects play a critical role in maintaining ecosystems. Without them, life on Earth would look extremely different. Despite their size, insects are a fundamental piece of the animal kingdom, proving that even the tiniest of creatures can have the biggest impact. 

 5. Honeybees are just one of thousands of bee species
When people think of bees, most picture the familiar honeybee buzzing around in the flower fields. But in reality, there are more than 20,700 known species of bees worldwide, from digger bees, miner bees, stingless bees, leafcutter bees and more! That’s more than all species of mammals and birds combined! Many of these species are understudied or little is known. However, each of these species play a crucial role in pollination, plant reproduction and ecosystem health. 

Written by Carter Chen