Insect reality is more outlandish than any fantasy:

• The snowy tree cricket is also a thermometer. Its rate of chirping will tell you the air temperature: count the number of chirps in 7 seconds and add 4˚C.
• The silk moth wraps itself in a single thread up to 2 kilometres long.
• Cicada membranes produce sound louder than lawnmowers with their amplifying air sacs.
• The wings of a biting midge beat at 1,046 strokes  per second.
• The tiny minim ants ride on top of leaves carried by their big sister leaf-cutter ants, protecting them from parasitic flies.

Read Extreme Insects, by Richard Jones (photo gallery.)

This extremely beautiful stick insect visited our house:

Tags: science

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