14 Scariest Insects

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• published: 30 Jul 2016
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From the infamous Tse Tse Fly to the GIANT weta, these are 14 of the scariest insects. Japanese Giant Hornet -- You can’t miss this creature … it’s about the size of your thumb, and has the ability to spray venom … flesh-eating venom, which it’ll attempt to spray in your eyes. That’s bad enough, but the venom also contains a pheromone mix that alerts hornets in the area to rush over and attack the victim. They’re also known to fly 50 miles within 24 hours, so they’re tough to outrun. Army Ant/Soldier Ant -- they’re found in the Amazon Basin and soldiers can reach a half-inch long. They’re known for their habit of swarming over and dismantling any living obstacle in their path, no matter how big …not a surprise. Soldiers have massive jaws like machetes measuring half the length of the insect itself. Their entire colony can number over a million, and they settle just long enough for the queen to lay her eggs, before assuming their notorious swarm formation. There are reports of Army ants overwhelming and shredding animals as big as horses. Did you know these ants are actually blind? Bot Fly -- While there are many varieties of Bot Fly, we’ll focus on the Human Bot Fly, which will lay its eggs on a mosquito or any insect that will try to land on a human. Once that carrier does land, the eggs are deposited on the skin and then hatched by body heat. Then the larvae actually burrow into the victim’s skin and stay there … living and eating. And depending on where the eggs are deposited, they can grow anywhere in the human body. Which means a botfly could potentially burrow its way right into your brain. Penny for your thoughts? Rhinoceros Beetle -- It’s also called the Hercules Beetle and can grow to 6 inches long. Their scary-looking spikes enable them to overturn their opponents when battling for mates. The horns themselves make up a third of the beetle's body weight. Wondering why they’re called Hercules beetles? Some species of the bug can lift things 850 times their own body weight … that’s like a human lifting 9 adult male elephants! Assassin Bug -- The name is scary enough on its own. But did you know they’re also called ‘Kissing Bugs’ because of their tendency to bite humans on their facial lips. That bite can transmit a parasite that results in Chagas Disease -- an infection that can damage major organs, sometimes fatally so. They get the assassin nickname because they tend to attack other insects in a quick and violent fashion, using their sharp beaks to stab their victim to death. Jewel Wasp -- Found in Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands, its name comes from its metallic body, colored blue and green. And if you hate cockroaches, this insect might be your new best friend. The Jewel Wasp will inject its venom directly into the brain of a cockroach, effectively turning the victim into a kind of zombie. After laying its egg into the abdomen of the cockroach, the egg hatches and chews through the roach’s insides while the host is still living. Sounds like a horror movie doesn’t it? Well, after the cockroach dies some 8 days later, a cocoon forms about the larva … and a month later, it’s ready to emerge. Giant Weta -- They may not have the same scary behavior as some of the other creatures on the list … But many people find the sheer size of this insect to be scary! In fact it’s the world’s heaviest insect so far reported, and can weigh upwards of 2.5 ounces … bigger than some mice! Native to New Zealand, fossils of the creature have been found dating back some 190 million years ago during the Triassic Period. That could make it older than certain dinosaurs. Did you know that the ears of this insect are located on its knees? Tse Tse Fly - Found only in rural Africa, the Tse Tse Fly is well known for carrying the sleeping sickness -- also known as trypanosomiases in humans -- they spread the disease by biting their victims, resulting in a parasitic infection. Within a few weeks fevers and headaches develop, followed poor coordination, numbness. Left untreated, cardiac and kidney dysfunction can occur. Neurological damage can cause a disruption in the victim’s sleep cycle, which inspired the name ‘sleeping sickness’. The victim’s 24-hour rhythm becomes fragmented, causing them to experience periods of wakefulness during the night, and sleep episodes in the daytime. Subscribe to Epic Wildlife http://goo.gl/6rzs5u Let's Connect -- http://www.epicadamwildlife.com/ -- http://www.facebook.com/epicadamwildlife -- http://www.twitter.com/epicwildlife -- http://gplus.to/epicwildlife