Hey YouTube, Jim here! Welcome to Top10Archive! You may somewhat understand the way humans
have evolved for thousands of years, but today we’re surprising you with the top 10
STRANGE ways insects have evolved to survive.
Considering they lived through dinosaur extinction and have adapted to live everywhere on earth,
seeing what tricks they have up their sleeve could be an inspiration. (Arrrgh! Quit bugging me!)
10. They Mimic Nature There’s an animal called the
walking leaf insect, which, clearly, got its name from its creative way of survival.
It mimics a leaf being blown by the wind. They can be found all over the world, but primarily in
Northern America. The reason behind their strange appearance is that they don’t have a lot of tools
to defend themselves. This means they have to avoid confrontation altogether, if possible.
What better way to do that than to blend in with your surroundings? One of the funniest facts about
these little insects is that they actually eat the very thing they mimic. If for any reason
they do run into a predator and come out alive, their limbs can regenerate fully once they shed.
9. Fluorescent Cockroaches We couldn’t talk about animals that evolve well
without mentioning the glowing cockroach, or any cockroach for that matter. There are 4600
species of cockroaches and only some are as annoying as the ones we find in houses.
Others don’t care about us at all, opting to live in the forest instead.
It’s a good thing, too, because these do a lot more than just crawl around.
The fluorescent cockroach glows green in the dark. Peoples' best guess is that it does this
as a way of mimicking the bioluminescent click beetle, which is poisonous. So,
despite it not being actually poisonous, enemies might think twice before striking in the dark.
8. Ears Location? If asked to locate an insect’s ears,
could you? On a Lacewing, their ears are at the base of their wings. For other insects,
like grasshoppers, they’re on their abdomen, and a type of fly called a tachinid, it’s on their neck.
This hawkmoth, however, has the ability to detect ultrasonic vibration with its mouth. Another fun
fact is that they drive away bats by rubbing their genitals together to create ultrasonic bursts.
7. Honey Is Survival Vomit Well, it’s not so much vomit
as it is honey backwash. The honey doesn’t come from the bee’s stomach, but from a little pouch,
and regurgitated from the mouth. While we’ve been eating honey for longer than we can even trace,
we don’t often think about why honey even exists. Honey is made to keep things free of bacteria.
Our best guess is that bees store the honey as a food source that lasts all winter, when flowers
aren’t in bloom and pollen is in short supply. 6. Ants Have Too Many Babies
Both army ants and driver ants are fertile and active, having thousands of babies every month
or so. The army ant has 120,000 eggs in just over a month, and starts the process over again right
away. The African driver ant queen goes much farther, laying broods of up to 4 million eggs
every 25 days. I suppose there’s a reason why there’s never a family of four ants,
but rather always a full colony. This way, even if they suffer some sort of catastrophe, there are
always enough ants to keep the species going. 5. Fat For A Cause
Honey ants are fat because they basically become the colony’s food source when necessary.
In times of crisis, a honey ant, called the “replete”, takes over the food situation by
gorging themselves on fats and nectar. When needed, they regurgitate the food while hanging
from the ceiling of the colony’s underground home. When those resources start to be depleted,
more “repletes” prepare to take over. It’s a great strategy, but I can’t name a single person whose
mouth I’d eat out of in case of emergency. 4. Eating Significant Others
You’ve probably heard about how the preying mantis eats its partner after copulating. To humans, this
seems, well, criminal. In reality, it’s a tactic to survive. After copulation, the female needs
all of the extra nutrition she can get to lay the eggs - and she doesn't exactly feel like hunting,
so she grabs the closest thing around. So, maybe it’s not so much a murder as a sacrifice.
Despite popular belief, nearly 80% of males will make it out alive.
3. Poop Bugs The Macrocilix Maia moth has poop-like
designed dorsal markings. Well, it’s actually more like flies eating poop. With other animals,
they think it’s not appetizing or similar to the food they actually want. Some bugs, like
papilio caterpillars, are so good at mimicking poop that they even have the smell to match.
2. Revenge In Death The bombardier beetle has the best name,
but an even better defense mechanism. Not sure how much you can call it a defense, because it
kicks in once they’ve been eaten. When in the mouth of a predator, the bombardier emits a tiny
bomb that irritates their mouth. Imagine being able to fart on command during your own funeral?
Best way to get back at the in-laws, ever. 1. Insects Spread.. Like Everywhere
Insects are all over the planet, though much less in Antarctica. One species has managed to adapt
to the extreme conditions of the southern continent, though. It’s a wingless midge
called Belgica Antarctica, and it's the only known insect on the continent. Interestingly,
it survives off of the bacteria found on penguin poop. To survive, it has evolved to have a dark
complexion to soak up as much sun as possible, and hibernates for long periods of time to avoid
winters where temperatures drop below −40 °C. Thanks for watching! Who else is feeling things
crawling all over their skin like I am right now? What are some other amazing
things you know about insects? Let us hear from you in the comments! Before you
bug out or buzz out of here, please subscribe, click the bell, and give this video a like.