Weirdest Insects

Posted on the October 9th, 2007 under Animals & Pets by Ryman

Neatorama just posted an article showing the weirdest insects in the world. They have a small selection, but each one is very informative and offers a lot of tidbits about the world of insects. They featured the longest, the biggest, the strongest, and even the deadliest of them all. As for me I don’t like insects, because they are creepy and are deadly.

Unstoppable Swarmers

Driver ants (Dorylus) or siafu are the masters of the swarm. Dorylus includes several species of army ants, primarily found in Africa. Colonies can contain 20 million ants! When the column is on the march looking for food, people can avoid them just by stepping aside. But there have been cases where invalids have been killed (by asphyxiation) when a column of ants marches through the house. They have been known to kill and eat animals up to the size of small zebras. The soldiers of the colony flank the column.

Deadliest of all

The mosquito (Culicidae) causes the deaths of millions of people every year. They spread yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, West Nile Virus, and malaria from person to person, without being affected by the diseases themselves. They also transmit the debilitating filariasis worm, which can lead to elephantiasis in humans.