Deadliest insects
Insects have crawled and flown over the earth for millions of years, long before humans. They’ve adapted to all sorts of climates all over the world. Many insects are beneficial to man kind such as the honeybee. Others aren’t.
Although each insect – whether we detest them or love them – all serve their purpose and without them, there would be no Humans.
Humans have used insects in our wars which have caused considerable damage. Yet some insects are extremely dangerous in their own right. Here are my top ten of the deadliest insects on earth based on the harm they can do to humans.
From Japanese Hornets to Killer Bees to Scorpions, these insects are extremely deadly and nothing to mess around with.
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Number Ten – Japanese Hornet
Number Ten – Japanese Hornet
The Japanese Hornet belongs to the Hymenoptera Family. This family includes bees, wasps, hornets and ants.
The Japanese or Asian Hornet grows three inches long the size of a finger. It can fly 50 miles per hour, so outrunning it isn’t an option.
This large hornet is the terror of all other insects. It preys on anything that creeps and crawls. But it’s favorite food is bees. When the baby hornets are hungry a scout goes out and finds a nice hive of bees. If it isn’t spotted by the bees it flies back to the hive and recruits 20 of it’s sisters. They go back to the hive of bees which may number up to 30,000 to 50,000 bees and then they slaughter every single bee without begin hurt.
I know what you are thinking….
Oh, those poor bees! Well the bees do have a strategy if the scout is spotted. They lure it into the hive and then when the lone hornet attacks a bee that wanders a little bit to close the hive will jump on it and kill it.
With stings? No. They swarm over it and generate heat. The hornet can withstand 115 F° but the bees generate a degree or two higher than what it can stand thus killing it.
For every predator that hunts prey, prey has a counter move to prevent it’s death.
The Asian Hornet does attack people and does kill 40 to 50 a year. Unlike most wasps and hornets this one contains poison in it’s stinger that eats flesh.
It is known as the “Empress of the Forest” for good reason.
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Number Nine – Killer Bees
Humans have always had a sweet tooth. Our love for sweets has lead to the creation of this bee. The Europe honeybees are docile compared to their African cousins which produce more honey. One scientist decided if he could get the two species of bees to breed combining the best of each.
Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. The new breed of bee that was created wasn’t docile but aggressive. It did produce more honey but like most bees didn’t want to share.
Many horror books and movies have been made about these bees making them worse than they are.
These bees aren’t to be messed with!
They are aggressive and will chase you for half a mile, stinging you all the way. Unlike other bees who send 20 to 30 percent of the works out to defend the hive and will chase you five hundred yards, the killer bee sends out 80 percent of the workers and they will make sure you get the point to stay away.
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Number Eight – Siafu Ants
This ant is a legend in Africa. When it is on the move, get out of it’s way! These ants attack in column that are twelve inches long and 200 feet long. When they attack a home they swarm over anything that is alive. This means rats, chickens, cockroaches, cats, dogs and humans.
The only method for repelling these creatures from the underworld is fire. Some people have burned down their homes by using it.
These ants have strong jaws. They are often used as sutures. Collect a bunch of solider ants, have them bite the gash and rip off the head. As the wound heals the ants head will keep it in place. It will fall off in due time.
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Number Seven – Scorpions
Scorpions have crawled upon this planet for 430 million years. They have adapted to many climates upon the earth but are best known for living in the deserts. Scorpions are venomous arthropods in the family of Archnida. They are related to spider, fleas, ticks and mites.
They are solitary hunters that come together to breed. The male then leaves the female to search for more females and prey to hunt.
The female has a long pregnancy which can last a few months to a year. The female births them and places the babies on her back. As they grow older and larger the mother isn’t so giving. The young leave their mother or she will eat them.
The deadliest scorpions inhabit Africa and the Middle East.
Number Six – Hemitera – Kissing Bug
This little guy belongs to the assassin bug family. It’s attracted to light and the smell of sleeping bodies. It finds it’s way to a sleeping person and bites around it’s face sucking their blood. Then it goes back to the refuse pile to hide. Their bites can cause allergic reactions. Far worse is the disease Chagas Disease.
This disease come from Latin American due to the rural villages. Due to moving to cities these people unknowingly spread the disease.
Number Five – Human Bot Fly
This fly looks like an alien from Outer space. It is ugly and has one drive. Reproduction, like most insects. This fly lays it’s eggs on a Mosquito who in turn bites a rabbit, cat, dog, horse or any warm blooded creature depositing the eggs. The maggots eat the flesh of the victim and then burrow their way out, drop to the floor of the jungle until they mature. Then they begin the process again.
Can creatures live through this? Yes
Can you eat the meat of the creature infected? Yes but cut away the infected part of the animal.
Is there a bot fly that attacks humans. Yes.
The Bot Fly occurs in Mexico and Central America. It’s rare for a tourist to get infected. So enjoy your trip.
Number Four – House Flies
The common house fly has been with man kind since man’s hunting days. These pests are a nuisance and a health hazard. It is the most widely distributed insect in the world.
It’s not only gross and looks like a helicopter with large eyes but it carries many diseases on it. It contaminates food.
Flies carry many diseases on them. So think of that the next time this small creature lands on your food. They can carry over 100 diseases such as typhoid, cholera, Salmonella, bacillary dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, and parasitic worms.
A fly needs food and lots of it. It lands by some food, vomits and softens up the food, then sucks it up with it’s tongue. It also leaves it’s fecal matter on the food where it lands. This is one reason why it spreads diseases that has effected mankind for as long and flies and humans have been around.
The Jews recognized it for it’s corruption. So have many people of the world. It has killed many people by carrying these diseases.
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Number Three – Fleas
During the days known as the Black Death rats were blamed for the Black Plague that swept across Europe. They were just the carriers of the creatures that wiped out countless thousands of people. The insidious villain was the flea.
Something so small changed the world. By killing thousands of people it broke down the Feudal system causing change to erupt throughout the land.
In the 14th Century Black Death was known as the “Great Mortality” or the “Great Plague”. People feared it more than anything thinking it was the work of Satan and of rats.
Just one little bite of a small flea caused so much change in the worl
Number Two – Tse Tse Fly
This large biting fly only lives in mid-continent Africa. It’s range is from the vast Sahara and the Kalahan deserts. They feed upon the blood of warm blooded animals as well as humans. The disease that they carry to humans is known as sleeping sickness.
They are known as tik-tik flies and sometimes spelled tzetze. They are as large a a common house fly but they do have differences. When they land they fold their wings and they have a longer proboscis.
They have been around for 34 million years. These flies kill 250,000 to 300,000 people a year.
We’ve trudged through the forests of Japan to see Hornets that are three
inches long, avoided killer bees, seen ants and scorpions. We’ve seen
flies and fleas and seen how much disease they have spread throughout
history. Yet there is one insect that can outmatch all these…
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Number One – Mosquito
These insects aren’t only party crashers to your summer outdoor party but they spread disease that kills two million people per year.
It’s the female that must have fresh blood for her eggs before she lays them. She bites her victim, transferring diseases in her saliva. Mosquitoes can carry malaria, yellow fever, dengue, EEE, SLE, LAC, West Nile virus and the list goes on.
Humans have been battling this pest for thousands of years. They keep biting and we keep swatting.