Locust
Locusts can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h in search of food. Thanks to this factor, it is included in the list of the fastest insects. When there is an abundance of food, the insect leads a solitary lifestyle, but when there is a shortage of food, it forms huge colonies (numbering tens of millions of individuals), which begin an active search for areas rich in food. Colonies make high-speed flights mainly in the morning or evening, over distances of up to 100 km.
Australian dragonfly
In the course of scientific research, entomologists have found out which is the fastest insect on our planet. This is the Australian dragonfly, or Austrophlebia costalis. Due to its large size it is often called the “southern rocker”. In one hour of flight it covers at least 60 km! This achievement is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Some scientists claim that the dragonfly is capable of flying at a speed of 100 km/h, but so far there is no documentary evidence of this theory.
How does the Australian dragonfly fly? This is the fastest insect on Earth, flapping its wings 100-150 times in one second. When she needs maneuverability in pursuit of prey, she flaps her hind and front wings alternately, and to develop super speed, she flaps them simultaneously. It is known that dragonflies are capable of covering enormous distances, moving more than a thousand km from home.
What other fastest insects live in our world? Read about them further.
Water striders
Water striders are considered the fastest insects that live on the surface of the water. The average speed of movement across a body of water is 4 km/h. Water striders easily glide across the surface of ponds and streams as if on ice. How do they manage to “walk on water” and remain completely dry? A detailed study of the surface of the water strider's legs provides a surprising answer. Many insects stick to the surface of water when they touch it, and water striders' feet are covered with wax and thousands of fluffy tiny hairs, known as microhairs, that trap air and form a floating cushion.
Black hornet or Dybowski's hornet
This type of hornet reaches a length of 2.5-3.5 cm. It has a black belly and brown wings. However, there is not a single stripe on his body. An interesting fact is that black hornets are social parasites, the females of which seize the young nests of related species.
Dubrovsky's hornets primarily live in Japan, China and India. They also feed on smaller insects. The hornet's sting is poisonous, so people should be careful with it.
Hornet
The hornet is one of the fastest flying insects in the world with a maximum flight speed of up to 25 km/h.
Its main food, which it is constantly in search of, is nectar and plant foods rich in sugar. Adults also hunt many insects, which they kill with their stingers and powerful jaws. Due to their size and the strength of their venom, hornets can effortlessly kill fairly large insects, including bees, grasshoppers, wasps and locusts. The victim is completely chewed, but not eaten immediately, but in the form of a suspension is fed to the larvae that develop in the nest. Considering the fact that hornets eat various pests, they can be classified as beneficial insects, although with some reservations.
Lifestyle
Asian giant hornets live in colonies for about six months.
In the spring, the queen hornet awakens and immediately begins to build a nest for the future family. To do this, she chews the bark of trees and saturates this mass with salivary secretion. The result is a sticky substance, from which the queen begins to “sculpt” a nest. When dried, the effect of paper material is obtained.
As soon as the first cells of the nest are ready, the queen immediately begins to lay the first eggs, from which soldiers and worker colonies will subsequently hatch. As they grow up, they also immediately become involved in the process of nest building. It only takes a few weeks for the number of one hornet family to increase to several thousand individuals. The queen herself does nothing else throughout her life except lay eggs. Other family members now do all the rest of the work for her.
Working individuals spend a lot of time and energy on the problem of feeding the growing larvae. The latter are almost constantly hungry; they have to get food almost continuously. To do this, adult individuals fly off to hunt, kill insects, chew their meat, and feed the voracious larvae with this “gruel.” The younger generation is carnivorous (they need protein), as are the adults. However, the diet of adults is much wider. They happily feast on other insects, as well as meat, fish, fruits and vegetables.
Constantly in search of food for themselves and especially for their “kids,” hornets often raid apiaries. By attacking hives, they kill bees, and in an hour one hornet can kill up to three hundred bees, but they do not attack one at a time. The damage caused by such “robbers” to the apiary is difficult to describe. Merciless hornets eat the honey in the conquered hive, and take the bee larvae and their pupae into their nest to feed their offspring.
It must be said that during hunting, hornets rarely use their poison to kill prey. More often they use their powerful jaws, which are capable of crushing even the hard chitinous coverings of many insects.
Closer to autumn, the colony begins to die out. The queen is no longer able to lay eggs, and the number of individuals no longer grows. The males died after mating, which occurred around August-September. Fertilized females are looking for a place to overwinter so that in the spring they can begin building their nest. They will no longer return to their previous “home.”
Hawk Moths
Hawk moths are butterflies that are considered the fastest in the world. When flying, lepidopteran insects are capable of reaching speeds of up to 54 km/h. They fly better than all other butterflies. They spend a lot of time in the air, and are able to hover over a flower and suck nectar from the flowers with their long proboscis. Thanks to this, they play an important role in pollinating flowers with deep corollas. They flap their wings very quickly, like hummingbirds, as if they “stand” in the air above a flower, and they are sometimes confused with these birds. Some genera of hawk moths fly during the day.
Danger to humans
Asian hornets are very dangerous. Their main weapon against humans is a long sting, reaching 6 mm in length, with which insects inject nerve poison into the body of the offender.
The Asian giant hornet is considered one of the most dangerous insects in the world.
The most dangerous venom of the Asian hornet is for people with allergies to insect stings, in particular wasps and bees. In this case, rapid development of anaphylactic shock is possible, which will require urgent hospitalization. However, even in the absence of an allergic reaction, such a sting can cause very significant discomfort and provoke a deterioration in well-being. The reason for this is the composition of the poison, which includes mandorotoxin, a neurotoxin that is an extremely dangerous substance, as well as acetylcholine, which attracts other hornets.
The toxic substances contained in the venom of the Asian hornet act primarily on the nervous system and can contribute to the development of symptoms such as:
- intense throbbing pain at the site of the bite;
- rapid extensive tissue inflammation;
- redness in the affected area;
- tissue hardening;
- Strong headache;
- dizziness;
- dyspnea;
- cardiopalmus;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- increase in body temperature.
If medical care is not provided in a timely manner, the tissues at the site of the bite begin to deteriorate, which, in turn, can cause damage to internal organs located near the affected area, as well as bleeding and hemorrhage.
However, it is worth noting that the Asian giant hornet never attacks without a reason. He can show aggression towards a person only in the event of a clear threat to him or the nest that he is called upon to protect. In such situations, the insect will definitely attack and may inflict several bites at once.
Actions when bitten
The huge and very dangerous Asian hornet can be found both in Russia and abroad - it lives in large quantities in Asian countries. And if such an unpleasant meeting happened, then the main rule is not to make any sudden movements. Try not to wave your arms and leave the habitat of this insect as calmly as possible.
And if unpleasant contact could not be avoided, and the Asian hornet bit you or the person next to you, then in this case you need to do the following:
- immediately apply something very cold to the affected area and hold for several seconds;
- then it is advisable to make a compress of wet sugar - thanks to this technique you can slow down the spread of toxins through the tissues;
- take an antihistamine, and it is better to give an injection - antihistamines are necessary, especially if you are not sure of the absence of an allergy;
- The person should be laid on his back and a pillow or cushion of folded clothing should be placed under his head - the head should be elevated.
If the victim’s health begins to rapidly deteriorate, then it is necessary to immediately seek medical help.
Bee
The list of the fastest insects in the world rightfully includes the bee . The bee's flight speed is 65 km/h, which is approximately the same as the speed of a car in the city. In one flight, a bee collects almost as much nectar as it weighs. With a full honey ventricle, a bee can reach speeds of up to 30 km/h. To collect 1 kg of nectar, a bee will have to make up to 150 thousand flights from the hive. On average, a bee travels up to 3 kilometers in one flight. To produce a kilogram of honey, a bee needs to fly an average of 450 thousand kilometers. This means that the distance a bee flies is similar to the distance it would take to circle the Earth's equator approximately 10 times.
FASTEST FLIGHT - WHO IS FASTER?
The flight speed of swifts is truly amazing.
A case is described when a flock of black swifts caught up with a sports plane that was flying at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour. The birds easily overtook the plane and even flew around it! Another unique case was recorded when an Indian black swift reached a speed of 318 kilometers per hour - it flew 3.2 kilometers in just 36 seconds. It seems unreal, but it really happened.
But swifts are not the only ones who can be proud of their achievements. Hawks and other predators can reach speeds of 170-190 kilometers per hour.
hawk in flight
Falcons fly even more rapidly. And one of them, the peregrine falcon, is considered a true champion. Even during flights, the peregrine falcon can reach, although not for long, speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. But the peregrine falcon reaches truly fantastic speeds by swooping down on its prey with lightning speed. Moreover, the speed of such a diving flight depends on the angle at which the peregrine falcon rushes to the ground. If the angle of incidence is 30°, then the speed is 270-290 kilometers per hour. But with a more vertical fall, the speed of the peregrine falcon increases further to 360 kilometers per hour!
falcon
The most modern methods are used to measure the flight speed of birds - they are observed from airplanes, the speed is measured using radar installations, or the flight is filmed with a video camera and then the speed of movement is calculated. At the same time, it is possible to find out a lot of interesting things. It turned out, for example, that birds move quite quickly on long flights. For example, the average speed of a flock of rooks during migration is 65 kilometers per hour, and when in the winter or summer where they nest, the same birds move much more slowly, flying no more than 48 kilometers in an hour.
Starling
Starlings fly at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour during migration. For waders, the average speed over long distances approaches 90 kilometers per hour.
Duck
Wild geese and ducks move especially quickly during migration; the flight speed of some species reaches 90-100 kilometers per hour. But the record in this form belongs to swifts - they fly up to 150 kilometers in an hour.
Horseflies
Horseflies are considered very fast flying insects, capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h during mating. Horseflies inhabit all continents except Antarctica. They are also absent from Iceland, Greenland and some oceanic islands. The largest number of horse flies, both in numbers and in the number of species, are found in wetlands, on the boundaries of different ecotopes, and in areas of livestock grazing. Their number only increases from the proximity of humans.
Common or European hornet
The body length of a male common hornet is about 2.5 cm, while the female grows up to 3.5 cm. They are found in Eurasia and St. America. Insects prefer to nest in tree hollows, barns and other similar places. Interestingly, these hornets live in nests built by queens.
It is also noteworthy that only females survive the winter, forming new families and building new nests each time. The European hornet's diet includes insects, raw meat, fruits and berries. Their bites are toxic, as a result of which a person may develop a fever and dizziness. Cases of death are extremely rare.
Jumping beetle
The jumping beetle is one of the fastest among insects, whose movement speed can sometimes exceed 2 meters per second. It can be classified as a beneficial insect that destroys pests in gardens and vegetable gardens. One horse can destroy more than 400 harmful insects over the summer. They go hunting in sunny weather. The beetle flies at high speed, but only for short distances. Sensing danger, he instantly rises into the air and, having flown a short distance, falls down. These arthropods can hunt on the fly, but obtain their main food on the ground, chasing insects or larvae. Being one of the fastest runners among his relatives, the hunter easily catches up with the fastest prey. Having grabbed hold of the prey with its powerful jaws, the beetle generously pours gastric juice with digestive enzymes onto it. Under the influence of the juice, the internal organs of the caught prey are partially digested, and after some time the fish can only suck out the nutritious gruel.
Jumping beetle (7.2 km/h)
But the land record holder in short-distance running is the jumping beetle, which reaches speeds of up to 7.2 km/h.
This ability was developed due to the threat of being eaten by birds and other natural enemies. It can also escape from predators by quickly flying from a dangerous place.
The fast beetle is useful because it eats the main pests of gardens and vegetable gardens, destroying up to 400 harmful insects during the summer.
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Cockroaches
Cockroaches are the fastest runners of all land insects. In 1991, a world record was set: a representative of Periplaneta americana reached a speed of 5.4 km/h or 50 cockroach body lengths per second. If a person ran at such a speed, then there would be no need for cars. In this case, people could reach speeds of up to 330 km/h.
Cockroach (5.4 km/h)
Cockroaches are the fastest land insects. The fastest movement was recorded in 1991, when a cockroach of the species Periplaneta americana ran at a speed of 5.4 kilometers per hour.
For comparison, we note that in a second a cockroach covers a distance equal to 50 body lengths. If we apply this indicator to a person, then our speed would be 330–400 kilometers per hour.
In addition, this is one of the oldest inhabitants of our planet, and scientists claim that they are able to survive after a nuclear war.
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Dragonfly
The dragonfly is considered the fastest insect in the world, which can reach flight speeds of up to 97 km/h. The normal flight speed is 30 km/h. They are classified as predatory insects. When scientists began studying dragonflies in 1999, they learned that dragonflies don't "track" their prey by flying through the air, they "intercept" it. In other words, dragonflies ensure a precise kill of the prey by flying to where the prey will be after some time. This indicates that dragonflies calculate three things when hunting: the distance to their prey, the direction in which it is moving, and the speed at which it is flying. Within milliseconds, the dragonfly calculates the angle from which it should approach, and, like in a horror film, the unfortunate victim is already waiting on the spot, who flies into its claws, without knowing it.
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Dragonfly (95 km/h)
The dragonfly is the fastest flying insect on the planet. Their flight speed is about 30 km/h, but some species of dragonflies are capable of reaching speeds of 95 kilometers per hour.
Long-term observations of dragonflies helped to find out that dragonflies do not chase their victims, but get ahead of them. They find themselves where the intended victim will fly in a few moments.
In this way of “intercepting” dragonflies they provide themselves with food, and most importantly, they have developed a high flight speed.
As you can see, the fastest insect in the world will give a head start not only to humans, but also to many representatives of the animal world. The ability to move quickly helps them maintain their population in the most difficult conditions of the struggle for survival. The editors of TheBiggest.ru hope that you liked our article. We are waiting for your comments!
