Call the army, heck, call your mom,
because the end is here.
Giant bugs are now roaming the Earth.
If these behemoths existed,
We don't have to watch old monster movies
to wonder what it would look like
if giant insects ran the planet.
Just step into the What If time machine
and look at our past.
Over 300 million years ago,
these monsters were everywhere.
Yeah, the Meganeura,
an early dragonfly relative,
had a wingspan of over 60 cm (23.6 in).
So why don't we see these
buzzing behemoths today?
These days,
atmospheric oxygen hovers around 21%.
But during prehistoric times,
oxygen levels could reach almost 35%.
If the levels rose that high now,
you would need masks and suits
to avoid oxygen poisoning.
But during these oxygen-rich times,
insects competed with birds for resources.
The faster and more agile birds won out
over the insects and learned to eat them.
Eventually, insects began to shrink
to the size we know today.
But if they were suddenly huge,
With instantly elevated oxygen levels,
bugs wouldn't be the only ones getting a growth spurt.
Trees could grow up to 30 m (100 ft),
and even your everyday ferns could be massive.
And crawling around on the forest floor?
Giant millipedes almost 2 m (6.6 ft) long.
Yeah, these things would be everywhere
eating decaying matter and plants.
Nah, nothing to worry about, right?
Ah, come on.
This is What If.
You know better than that.
Those dragonflies we saw earlier would be back and in a big way.
Dragonflies today are deadly predators with great vision.
They bite into their prey's head
and fly it back to a nice secluded spot
where they devour everything.
Only now,
humans would be on their menu.
Your only chance to strike down
this winged menace would be
in their early developmental stage
before their tough exoskeletons are fully formed.
Getting them first while they're still
learning to fly may seem like fighting dirty,
but this world won't cut you any slack.
And you might just have a meal for later.
Just remember to aim for the eyes.
But what if you needed something stronger
to take down these creatures?
The average insect's exoskeleton
consists of wax, protein strands
and other elements layered together
to protect them from their daily dangers.
Even their muscle attachments
their limbs made from a biopolymer
material called chitin,
are six times stronger than human tendons.
Yeah, getting through an exoskeleton with
conventional weapons wouldn't be easy.
But a diamond-tipped bullet or drill bit
might be strong enough to pierce this outer shell.
Maybe you could strap a diamond
to a spear.
Scientists have even been working
on creating hexagonal diamonds stronger than anything available now.
With these lumbering threats around,
they better speed up the process.
Now depleting oxygen levels stopped
these bugs before.
Maybe, over time.
If humans keep burning
fossil fuels and dumping carbon dioxide into the air,
we might see these bugs shrink in size over decades.
But that might not be fast enough.
Sometimes the best way to stop a predator
is with another predator.
You might want to breed large birds
to protect you since they eat dragonflies and other insects.
And that age-old battle between insects
and birds would start again.
But, uh, leave the parakeet at home.
You'd need a hawk or a trained eagle
to fight these giant bugs.
Although even these predators wouldn't be immune from attacks.
Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about
an oversized Daddy Long Legs spider,
but the Goliath Birdeater, well, that's a different story.
When they were normal size,
your pet bird would be in danger.
I mean, it's in the name.
So if you got caught in this beefed-up version's web,
it could be fatal.
Normally, their venom wouldn't necessarily kill you.
But getting a giant-sized dose of venom
in your blood could end your life before you even knew what happened.
Uh, that's grim.
And even that fate is better than if you met a wasp in this world.
Yeah, giant wasps might be able
to paralyze you with one sting.
And unfortunately, it's not done with you yet.
No, this insect would take you back to their nest,
where you would be eaten alive by their larvae.
Well, since wasps have poor vision at night,
your best bet would be to strike
after the Sun went down,
destroying their nest in a sneak attack.
Humans would have to adapt to the dark
to deal with the new threats to our existence.
But don't destroy the larvae just yet.
This payback is going to be sweet.
Or, well, maybe savory.
When the world panicked at the sight of murder hornets,
some people in Japan were laughing
as they pan-fried their grubs.
Yeah, these giant larvae could be preserved
in jars or even steamed with rice.
A wasp shish kabob could be tasty.
I mean, if they don't skewer you first.
This world would create a never-ending
battle between humans and insects.
And victory would go to whoever's hungriest.
Even with these giant bugs roaming the Earth,
we would still have the brains and brawn to fight back.
But now, what if these oxygen levels had
the same effect on humans?
Yeah, what if you grew to be 5 m (16 ft) tall?
Well, stick around, beanpoles,
because that's a story for another WHAT IF.