Top 5 Insects You Didn’t Know Existed

 

Top 5 Insects You Didn’t Know Existed

With over 10 quintillion insects alive at any given time on earth, there are bound to be quite a few species that you have never heard about. Here is a list, brought to you by your friends at Pointe Pest Control, of the top five insects that you never knew existed.

1. Bombardier Beetle.

Insects have some crazy defense mechanisms, yet nothing comes close to the bombardier beetle. It mixes two chemicals in its backside that create an explosion of liquids hot enough to burn your skin. That’s right it can hurt you. It uses this defense to kill would be predators with its projectile boiling backside fluids.

2. Parasitoid Wasps.

The idea of a monster insect burrowing out of your body might seem a little science fiction, but for caterpillars it is science fact. The parasitoid wasp finds an unsuspecting caterpillar, injects eggs into and then leaves. The eggs develop into larva eat the soft insides of their host. Once they are large enough they burrow out of the caterpillars flesh to begin the process again.

3. Horse Hair Worms.

Though it is not technically an insect, the horse hair worm is forcing insects to drown all across America. Once a bug is infected with the larva of a horse hair worm, the larva develops and consumes around 85% of the host’s insides. Once developed, the horse hair worm alters the brain of the insect and forces it to find the nearest pond, puddle or lake. The insect jumps in, drowns and the horse hair worm emerges, free to repeat the cycle.

4. Raspberry Crazy Ant.

You have heard of computer viruses that try to ruin your laptop, yet there is an insect willing to do the same. The crazy ant has been named for its erratic wandering behavior; they also like your computer. They find their way into computer systems and electrical boxes. When one gets zapped, it releases an alarm pheromone and soon the whole colony is ready to attack. Soon your computer is ruined and full of electro-fried ants.

5. Human Bot Fly.

If you were grossed out by the parasitoid wasp, stop reading. The human bot fly can and will develop in your skin. An adult bot fly grabs a mosquito in midair and attaches eggs to the underside. When that mosquito lands on you, your body heat melts the glue and little bot eggs fall to your skin. Immediately the eggs hatch and burrow into your skin. The larva come equipped with reverse spines to stop you from pulling it out. After 20 to 60 days the larva becomes and adult bot fly and emerges from your body.