Buzz
They buzz, leap, and make sounds in the dark. The presence of insects is unmistakable. Yet, for many, these creatures often take a backseat to concerns like fine dining, illness, and global conflicts.
It turns out, insects have a role to play in all of these areas. Researchers are experimenting with insect-based cuisine, and insects may hold the key to combating superbugs. Most disturbingly, the military has enlisted insects in its ranks for national defense purposes.
10. The Insect Apocalypse
Recently, media outlets have reported that insects could vanish by the end of this century. Scientists, however, argue that such a “bugpocalypse” is highly unlikely. When one species goes extinct, others tend to fill its ecological role.
That said, experts acknowledge that insect populations are dwindling at a concerning pace. What's worse, the precise reasons remain uncertain. Commonly blamed factors include pesticides, the expansion of agriculture, and climate change.
The problem is compounded by the fact that we still don’t know how many insect species exist. Around 80 percent are yet to be formally documented by taxonomists. The true number is likely in the millions.
While a “bugpocalypse” seems improbable, researchers have not downplayed the gravity of insect species loss. Within the coming decades, as much as 40 percent of insect species could be gone.
Virtually every food chain starts with herbivorous insects, which are eaten by larger insects, who in turn are consumed by birds and small mammals that serve as prey for bigger predators. The loss of such a vast number of insects would have catastrophic effects on other species and agriculture.
9. Pseudo-Genitalia
In 2014, scientists stumbled upon gender-bending creatures in Brazil. The females of a species called Neotrogla, a type of book louse, laid eggs just like typical bug mothers. But they also sported phallus-like organs, not just for appearance. During mating, these females used their hooked appendages to prevent the males from escaping. Ironically, the males had female-like pockets for their genitalia.
Though other species feature females with penis-like structures, none of them use them for actual penetration. This makes Neotrogla exceptional. Even more incredible, a related genus, Afrotrogla, follows the same pattern.
Despite sharing this unusual trait, there are key differences. Afrotrogla hails from southern Africa, not Brazil, and their functional penises look vastly different from those of Neotrogla.
The exact reason may remain a mystery, but there's a significant clue as to why they defied the gender norms of most species. Both reside in caves, where food is hard to come by.
Males risk malnutrition if they father offspring indiscriminately, as sperm production depletes valuable nutrients. However, scientists believe that females, not fond of such scarcity, evolved in this way to actively seek out sperm packages.
8. Insect-based Pet Food
In 2019, the UK saw its first pet food made from flies hit the market. This marked the first time insects were offered as food for dogs and cats in the country. The company behind this innovation, Yora, used the larvae of black soldier flies, which were specially farmed by a Dutch protein company called Protix.
Made with a variety of recipes, the fly-based pet food is said to be both flavorful and nutritious. The insects provide 40 percent of the protein content, which is higher than other insect-based pet foods available in the United States and Germany.
Other components include potatoes, oats, and what the company refers to as “natural botanicals.” Yora also claims that if this kibble becomes popular, it could significantly reduce the 20 percent of human-grade meat currently fed to pets. Additionally, the pet food industry’s manufacturing process contributes to around a quarter of all meat production-related environmental damage, an issue that insect farming does not exacerbate.
7. The Tiniest Genome
The largest land-based animal in Antarctica is... a midge. While there are larger creatures, they technically fall under aquatic species. Measuring just 0.6 centimeters (0.23 inches), the Antarctic midge spends up to two years frozen in ice before emerging as a wingless adult that only survives for about a week.
Historically, the insect’s remarkable ability to endure harsh environments made it a prime subject for research. Its larvae, for example, can survive lethal dehydration, intense ultraviolet radiation, and even being frozen solid.
To dive deeper, a 2014 study examined the insect’s genetic makeup. The most astonishing discovery was how minuscule the midge’s genome is. While humans have 3.2 billion base pairs of nucleotides (the fundamental units of DNA), Antarctica’s sole true insect has just 99 million base pairs. This made it the insect world’s smallest genome.
Curiously, all of its so-called junk DNA was absent. Once dismissed as useless, junk DNA is essential for regulating genes. Yet, this midge managed to simplify its genome to such an extent that it was previously believed to be unachievable.
6. Insect-Based Bread
While certain insects are packed with nutrients, they’re often considered outdated for modern cuisine. However, with the world’s population expanding and agricultural land becoming scarce, insect farms requiring less space may be part of the solution. The real challenge lies in convincing people to eat insects, especially those who aren’t eager to try dishes like grasshopper pie.
In 2018, Italian researchers found a clever way to incorporate insects into food—by making them virtually invisible. They created bread using powdered crickets, which left no clear evidence of the insects, although a few problems emerged.
Despite being nutritious, the bread’s taste was compared to “cat food.” Moreover, the more cricket powder added, the less the bread rose, and it lost its characteristic chewiness.
A significant issue was bacterial spores. Scientists are working on ways to eliminate these spores that may hitch a ride on insect powders, including sterilization methods like gamma irradiation. But making the bug bread taste good or even look appetizing enough for consumers to pack insect-filled sandwiches for their children remains a tough challenge.
5. Bee Business Cards
A few years ago, Dan Harris from Norwich stumbled upon an intriguing fact about bees. He learned that their rapid metabolism causes them to tire quickly, and he began noticing bees often appearing exhausted on sidewalks. Upon realizing these bees were starving, Harris came up with a creative solution—snack packs for hungry bees.
Building on the knowledge passed down from his beekeeper uncle and scientist father, Harris spent several years perfecting a special card. The card featured three slots filled with a sugar formula that beekeepers use. The first time Harris tried his “Bee Savior” card on a struggling bee, it worked.
He removed the foil covering from the slots and placed the card near the bee. The insect immediately went for the formula and started feeding. When designer Richard Horne’s children successfully revived a bee using a prototype, Horne was so impressed that he offered his design skills to improve the card's functionality.
Harris launched a nonprofit and used crowdfunding to mass-produce the cards, which are small enough to fit in anyone’s wallet.
4. Clue To Opalization
In 2018, gemologist Brian Berger ventured through the Southeast Asian markets, known for their amber-filled fossils. In Indonesia, he uncovered a rare find: a mysterious insect not trapped in amber, but preserved in opal, a precious gem.
The process of Opal formation remains an enigma. The discovery of a perfectly preserved insect inside opal challenged existing theories on opalization. In simpler terms, this should have been impossible. According to current research, opalization typically requires a space for silica-rich fluids to enter.
Amber, which similarly entraps insects as in the 2018 discovery, is fossilized tree resin. This could point to the possibility that opals form in a way more akin to amberization than scientists originally thought.
It’s possible that something truly exceptional occurred—an insect inside amber may have undergone opalization. If this theory holds, this insect could be one of the oldest ever discovered, as amber takes millions of years to form.
3. Project Insect Allies
The Pentagon’s research division, known as DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), is known for its outlandish ideas. Yet, in 2018, one of its projects sent ripples of unease throughout the scientific community.
The Pentagon considers food security a matter of national security, which is understandable, given that a hungry nation can collapse. However, the latest concept raised eyebrows from the start: using insects to spread viruses to crops. Dubbed “Insect Allies,” this technology aims to deliver what DARPA calls “targeted therapies” to fields in times of crisis.
For instance, if a region suffered from a drought, insects would spread a genetically engineered virus to the crops, slowing their growth and helping prevent crop loss. The project also aims to address other potential threats, including floods, extreme weather conditions, and even sabotage.
Some researchers are skeptical about the project’s ethics. The use of infected insects is reminiscent of bioweapons, and critics question why such methods are needed when sprinklers can achieve the same effect. However, other scientists aren’t worried about any ulterior motives. At least four universities in the U.S. accepted DARPA’s funding to help develop this insect-driven technology.
2. They Have Interlocking Gears
In 2013, a British scientist visiting a colleague in Germany made an intriguing discovery in the host's garden. He encountered an insect, known as Issus coleoptratus, which had been identified previously. Back in 1957, researchers had noticed a unique feature on the insect's hind legs resembling the interlocking gears of a wristwatch, but the study had ended there.
When researchers revisited the critters from the German garden, they discovered that the interlocking gears actually worked. This made the planthopper the first living creature known to use a mechanism previously seen only in machines.
It took high-speed video footage to capture the mechanism in action. As the insect prepares to leap, it interlocks the teeth of one gear with those of the other leg. The release is flawless, propelling the creature forward with great force.
Only the young planthoppers show the curved strips containing up to 12 interlocking teeth. Since the larvae molt multiple times, they can regenerate broken teeth. However, adults no longer molt, so any damaged teeth would be a lifelong handicap. Instead, they rely on leg friction to jump.
1. Antibiotic Heroes
Humanity is confronting a serious dilemma. Superbugs that defy our strongest antibiotics are already taking lives by the thousands each year. Recently, a surprising ally has entered the fight—microorganisms that inhabit insects.
While soil bacteria have traditionally been used for antibiotic development, the new contenders come from a far more unusual battleground—every insect serves as a host to a universe of microbes that are constantly at war. The toxins they deploy in this battle are, in essence, natural antibiotics.
Tests have revealed that some of these natural substances are far more effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria than any soil-derived antibiotics. The silver lining is that the incredible diversity of insects and their associated microbes could provide a long-term and expansive supply of potent antibiotics.
The downside is that, even once a promising compound is identified, it typically takes years to develop a drug from it.
