Insect Facts we Bet you Didn’t Know

Insects are a widely diverse group of critters which include ants, bees, flies, cockroaches, beetles and more. While you don’t want them invading your home there’s a lot of insect facts to learn about these six-legged bugs. No matter what species they all have a 3-segment body (head, thorax & abdomen) which is encased in a hard exoskeleton. However, insects are also extremely different and unique to their own habitat. Richmond Pest Control, pest exterminator in Southern NJ, highlights 25 cool insect facts you probably didn’t know!

25 Cool & Interesting Insect Facts

1. Ants can live up to 30 years giving them the longest lifespan of all insect species.
2. Dragonflies have existed for over 300 million years.
3. Bugs have extremely strong wings made of cuticles, the strongest natural material in the world.
4. Butterflies taste their food using their feet.
5. A honeybee colony can make 220 jars of honey in a single year.
6. Over 3,500 species of mosquitos exist in the world.
7. Cockroaches can live up to 1 week without their head.
8. Caterpillars have more muscles in their body than humans.
9. Fruit flies were the first living creature sent to space in 1974.
10. Fleas can jump up to 13 inches.
11. Mosquitos are attracted to stinky feet.
12. Grasshoppers existed before dinosaurs walked the earth.
13. A ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its life.
14. Spiders are not insects.
15. Only male crickets have the ability to chirp.
16. All insects are cold blooded.
17. Some queen termites can lay up to 40,000 eggs per day.
18. Bees are found on every continent, except Antarctica. Learn more Interesting Bee Facts.
19. Ants can lift and carry up to fifty times their own weight.
20. Insects have existed for 350 million years, while humans have only been on earth for 300,000 years.
21. There are more kinds of beetles than all known species of plants.
22. Ticks can grow from the size of a grain of rice up to that of a marble.
23. On a gathering trip, bees can fly over 60 miles in a single day.
24. To survive on frigid nights, may inspects can replace the water in their body with glycerol, which acts as an antifreeze.
25. The oldest fossil discovered dates back 400 million years and is an insect known as a springtail.