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Great
BLUE MARBLE - Insect & Butterfly Garden |
The
firefly is nocturnal
(active at night). Fireflies
emit light by the oxidation
of luciferin. The animated
firefly image shows the
light coming from a firefly. |
Insect
Superlatives |
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What
is the largest insect? What is the heaviest insect? What is the longest
insect?
What insect has the largest or longest wingspan? What is the smallest
insect? |
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There
are several different ways of measuring the size of an insect, however we
consider the largest
insect to be the bulkiest and in this case the champion insect is the
Acteon Beetle (Megasoma acteon)
from South America, the males of which can be 9cms long by 5cms wide by
4cms thick. There is a
serious challenge for heaviest insect in the world in the form of the
New Zealand, True Wetas, for
instance a gravid female Deinacrida heteracantha can weigh as
much as 70 grams. Another competitor
for the title is the extremely rare South American Longhorn Beetle Titanus
giganteus. These giants can
be over 16cms in body length, not including the antennae. Other longhorn
beetles are nearly as long
and may look bigger because of their longer legs like the Xixuthrus
heros from Fiji. Another beetle,
Dynastes hercules is also well known for reaching 16cms in
length, although it is not nearly as heavy.
The longest insect in the world is the Stick-Insect Pharnacia kirbyi,
the females of which can be over
36cm long. Some living lepidoptera have wingspans as great as 32cm and
an area of over 300 sq. cm.
There are an incredible number of very small insects in the world, far
more than there are giants.
Many beetles are less than one millimeter in length, and the North American
Feather-winged Beetle
Nanosella fungi at 0.25mm is a serious contender for the title of
smallest insect in the world. Other
insect orders which contain extremely small members are the Diptera
(True Flies) and the Collembola
(Springtails). There are many small Hymenoptera, especially in the
Superfamily Chalcidoidea, such
as the Fairy Flies, of the family Myrmaridae, of which Alaptus
magnanimus at 0.21mm long was once
thought to be the smallest insects in the world, however another
Hymenopteran parasite now holds the
record. Megaphragma caribea from Guadeloupe measuring out at 0.17
mm long is now probably
the smallest known insect in the world. |
Did You Know?
Insects are a member of the
class Insecta, and phylum Anthropda.
Insects have an external skeleton. Most animals, including humans, have an internal
skeleton.
Insects are the largest group of all living creatures. More than 1,000,000 species are
known. |
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Did You Know?
The monarch butterfly migrates
thousands of miles each year from Canada to Mexico.
Butterflies are an insect of the division Rhopalocera, of
the order Lepidoptera.
The butterfly is also a swimming stroke, named for the gracious movement of the
butterfly. |
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Did You Know?
The mosquito is a two-winged
fly of the family Culicidae.
The female mosquito has a needlelike mouth for puncturing the skin of animals to suck
blood.
Some mosquito bites can transmit serious diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.
Dragonflies (member of Odonata) generally fly near
water, feeding on insects they catch in flight. |
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Did You Know?
Bees are numerous throughout
the world, and belong to the order Apoidea.
Bees are a four-winged insect, capable of producing wax and honey.
Bees are invaluable to man in the pollination of food crops. |
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Did You Know?
The honeybee's food consists of
nectar, and the pollen from flowers and plants,
which honeybees can make into honey. Bees are closely related to
wasps and ants.
The sting of the female and worker wasps
is mortal or paralyzing to other insects. |
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Did You Know?
Grasshoppers are leaping
insects of the suborder Saltatoria, and are related to locusts.
Grasshoppers are mainly nocturnal, or active at night, and are plant-eating
insects.
Mantises are Orthopterons,
an order of insects that include grasshoppers and crickets. |
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Did You Know?
Ants are of the order Hymenoptera.
There are many species of ants and they are widely
distributed. Ants show a highly developed social organization and complex behavior patterns.
Many ants exhibit parental care, carrying food to their larvae, and cleaning and
guarding nests. |
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The Golden Butterfly Poster |
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Proverbs
to Live By
The greater
the obstacle the
more glory in
overcoming it.
Moliere |
Proverbs
to Live By
No one knows
what he can do
till he tries.
Latin Proverb |
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Blue Marble thanks the
people
of the world who have visited us. |
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