Most insects suffer a lot from humans, they just couldn't have gone into extinction. We treat them badly, kill them as we please, we just do to them anything that comes to our mind at the time since there's no law guiding that and even if there was, who would know I was screwing an insect in my hand except for the big ones which are "nigerially" compatible with our slippers(foot wears)... 😂
On the other hand are those people that have freights for insects. They probably consider them disgusting or creepy but many of us don't seem to understand that the insects have some special powers and hold the key to some of the things we need. I selected at least 10 insects to talk about today because I don't know what tomorrow brings. Let's get started...
1. Bombardier Beetle
Sometimes, am forced to ask myself how these insects get to know their capability when even we humans with the most developed brain type still struggle to unveil some of our capabilities. Who knew we have a protein that can help destroy cancerous cells in our body until recently, or that we could increase our lifespan by inhibiting some proteins in the body and so on. Well, it still boils down to adaptation.
The name bombardier is gotten from bombard which means to attack with bombs, missiles or projectiles. Naming this beetle bombardier is not a mistake because when it comes to defensive mechanism in insects, this insect is considered as the number one. It has the ability to fire a hot chemical solution as hot as water in its hottest temperature(100°c). Imagine, water at 100°c on your skin, and it also has chemical components in it, that's enough to keep off a human being let alone another predator.
The body of the bombardier beetle is a very complex and fine too. The chemicals hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide are what the insect uses to attack its predator. As powerful as they make the bombardier beetle, they can also be their destruction or end because if not properly stored or combined, they can lead to the explosion of the beetle.
All thanks to nature for the wonderful body given to the beetle. The beetle has two glands beneath the abdomen that separate the hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone. Once the beetle is tensed or threatened, its sphincter muscles squeeze the chemicals into a different compartment where they are mixed up with other toxins.
2. Voodoo Wasps
What would have been the reason to name a thing voodoo if not magical ability? Nothing else actually, they have magical powers and yes, I said so. They can put their prey in a zombies-like state which sounds like something you'd see in a sci-fi flick but has been scientifically proven to be true. Once prey becomes a zombie, then the voodoo wasp can control the prey, another thing that amazes me in insects.
Usually, Voodoo wasps lay eggs inside the bodies of young caterpillars and when they become larvae, they become parasites by sucking the host's body fluids. Upon full growth or development, they find their way out of the caterpillars' body mostly by cutting through the skin. Then, a cocoon is created which they use to attach themselves to a leaf. Now to the Zombie feature... the caterpillar used as host stay and act as a bodyguard to protect the cocoon from attack from predators.
Scientists did their investigation and they discovered that the infected caterpillars became zombies because Voodoo wasps introduced stinkbugs to them. UninfecTed caterpillars don't seem to see any importance in protecting the cocoon even if attack before their eyes, they just walk past. When the scientists kept digging, they saw the voodoo wasps needed this great power to survive.
3. Ants
These wicked creatures 2 days ago attacked me when I picked a bottle of honey I dropped the previous day not knowing it was already filled with ants. I opened the bottle and fixed in my mouth, I just noticed a movement, I knew it was an ant straightaway and quickly I withdrew the bottle but I was already stung and the next thing was a swollen lip. I had to suck in my lip all day to avoid being asked too many questions, one would have easily thought I had a fight.
Ants are very social insects that have a way of communicating to their fellow but I won't be going there today. Let's focus on their ability to trace up something just as they traced my bottle of honey. Ants are very amazing when it comes to tracing things, they can go as far as anywhere to get food and I can tell you that they won't miss their homes. They make use of a lot of visual cues to find their way back home even after the longest hustle. Think about ants in the deserts where there are no visual cues, how do they find their homes?
To answer this question, scientists conducted an experiment with the Tunisian desert ant.
Experiment
They placed four different types of odors at the ants' nest and made sure the nest was "barely visible." After they must have been familiar with the smell, they removed the four odors and placed in different locations.
It was however surprising that the ants went to the place where the odors were located (the same spot where the nest entrance should have been).
This experiment made known that ants can smell two different odors at the same time and from two different directions as well. It also showed that ants might not have to rely on the visual cues alone most especially in places like deserts so they just do an odor mapping of their environment by relying on their "stereo sense of smell." So this means, regardless of the vision, once the odor is intact, there's always home for them.
4. The Dragonflies
Through the ages, we've thought we only have the ability to select our point of attention. If a lion wants to prey on another animal, a little distraction can save the potential prey and make it escape which means the lion can't select its attention. It's still a surprise to me that dragonflies were recently discovered to have this ability too—selective attention.
I have come to realize that having a small brain does not limit its function and a very large does not guarantee supreme functions either. The dragonflies despite having a small brain, do selective attention or maybe they know this saying "The man who chases two rabbits, catches none" 😂 because when it comes to hunting for prey, the use the selective attention to focus only on one prey, using their brain to erase ever other prey in sight. This makes them accurate and successful at their hunting with an accuracy/success rate of 97%
5. The Dung Beetles
The major reasons for the presence of the dung beetles in the list are of course astronomy and its pooping rolling characteristics. Astronomy? Poop rolling? They don't connect but so far so good, this insect has been able to combine the two successfully. I don't think this is amazing... but I think their ability to roll the dungs in a straight line without bending even at night when there's low light is amazing...
Intrigued by this fascinating ability, Marie Dacke, a biologist from Lund University in Sweden, conducted an experiment. She placed the dung beetles in a planetarium, and watched as the insects were able to successfully roll their dung ball in a straight line by using the “entire starry sky”.
Even to make the experiment more interesting and funful, Dacke reduced the available light by streamlining the light available to only the milky way galaxy but it was still a win for the dung beetle. It just kept on rolling its balls continuously in a straight line without deviating.
Wow! I didn't mean to make this post this long but I couldn't make it any shorter so I have to break it into two so it doesn't get too long for you to read. Part 2 comes up tomorrow, stay around...
Thank you for coming around!!
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Sources
Voodoo Wasps | Bombardier Beetle | Ants | Dragon Fly | The Dung Beetle