TOP 15 BIZARRE Looking Insects

with more than a million different known species of insect on earth they're found in virtually every corner of our planet there are so many individuals that they are believed to be around 1.4 billion insects for every person but while most may look creepy there are others that are almost unbelievable make sure to keep a can of bug spray on hand as we take a look at the top 15 most bizarre looking insects number 15 scorpion fly there are more than 160 000 species of flies around the world but perhaps the most weird and frightening of them all is known as the scorpion fly there are actually at least 420 different species that fall under this classification and while each of them are different in their own way they have one trait that connects them together the males have unusually large genitalia that look like a scorpion's tail they're found in virtually every country in the world and typically grow to up to 1.4 inches long are actually more closely related to fleas than other types of flies and usually breed in extremely moist places such as a recently fallen leaf litter luckily though despite looking like they have a stinger they aren't able to use their appendage in such a way so they pose no threat to us whatsoever interestingly though the behavior of scorpion flies has become important to forensic science they're often the first on the scene to feed on corpses but will only stay around for a day or two while the remains are still fresh forensic entomologists can therefore use their presence to narrow down the likely time of death number fourteen hummingbird hawk moth at first when you see a hummingbird hawk moth flying around a flower it looks just like the type of bird that has been named after but when you look closer it becomes clear that this isn't a true bird and is instead an insect native to warmer regions across europe and asia they have a wingspan of up to two inches across and are actually more active the higher the temperature is the moths are able to flap their wings far faster than any other species so much so that you can hear a hum when they pass by this gives them the same flying capabilities as a hummingbird they've also developed an extended proboscis that allows them to suck out nutrients from inside a flower which allows them to access food that would otherwise be unavailable to them it's a perfect example of something called convergent evolution whereby two unrelated species develop similar traits to overcome the same challenges due to the high energy costs of flying like this hummingbird hawk moths have to feed most of the day even during heavy rain when most other species seek shelter they usually live in woodlands where there's a plentiful supply of flowers and because of their unusual looks have become synonymous with good fortune if you ever see one number 13 plant hopper there are more than 12 000 different species of insects that are called plant hoppers and each of them is as strange as the others their name comes from the fact that they usually look like part of a plant such as the leaves or flower buds and one of the ways they get around is by hopping from place to place in a similar way to a grasshopper they usually move much slower though because their primary defense against predation is by camouflaging in with their surroundings they come in a wide range of different colors and shapes depending on the plant species they live on and are found in regions all over the world they feed on the plants that they resemble and are one of the main vectors for the spread of various plant diseases but aren't generally regarded as unwanted pests because they're also vital to local ecosystems insects like these have been found in the fossil record from as far back as 50 million years ago and they've evolved a number of useful traits along the way some plant hoppers produce a waxy substance from glands on their abdomens and this not only repels water so it's easy for them to move but it's also used to coat their eggs to provide an extra layer of defense against predators who don't like the taste or texture number 12 giraffe weevil because of its geographical position madagascar has one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet the islands separated from larger land masses many millions of years ago and many of the animals there have evolved independently of those elsewhere of all the different species that you'll find in madagascar but nowhere else one of the most bizarre is the giraffe weevil growing to just under an inch in length they have black bodies and red wings but the most notable thing about them is their strangely long necks while this is said to be like a giraffe's there's actually a joint in the middle of the neck that allows it to bend and this isn't an adaptation that comes about to help them reach higher places for food instead it's believed that the long necks of the males enable them to be efficient nest builders and play a vital role in attracting a mate during breeding season the males will fight one another and it's those with the longest and strongest necks that will prevail and when the affections of a female this in turn reinforces the genes for long necks in the next generation it means that this unusual trait only becomes more enforced over time number 11 australian walking stick most stick insects look like thin pieces of plant matter that can easily hide on virtually any type of tree but there's one species that's very different to what you'd imagine when you think of them known as the australian walking stick they're native to various leafy regions around australia and are surprisingly large they can grow up to eight inches long but they don't simply rely on being mistaken for part of a branch they're covered in thorny spikes that not only help to further camouflage in with their surroundings but also act as a physical deterrent for anything that decides to try to eat it the thorns and overall appearance is much clearer to see on the females of the species who also have wings but also are too small to actually be able to fly the males on the other hand tend to have smaller bodies and fewer thorns and have much larger wings so they're able to fly in search of food as a further way to deter predators australian walking sticks have also developed a clever defense posture they'll stand on their front and middle legs and raise their abdomens up which makes them look like they're about to strike like a scorpion while they don't have a stinger they can cause damage with their rear legs that act as pincers and are actually able to cut into human skin [Music] number 10 spiny flower mantis there are at least 1800 different species of praying mantis but even though they're all related there's a huge variety in the way each of them looks flower mantises for example mimic the appearance of flowers to help camouflage and evade predators and the strangest of all is called the spiny flower mantis they're native to southern and eastern africa and can be a range of different colors from greens and whites to reds pinks and yellows usually growing to one and a half inches long their patterning on the top side resembles plant material but they have spines on their undersides that make them more difficult to safely pick up the fact that they are so well camouflaged to look like flowers actually works for them in two ways the first is that most predators don't even realize that they are potential prey but the second is that insects often try to pollinate them when this happens the mantis is quick enough to turn around and catch the insect and this is the most common way that flower mantises catch their food you'll very rarely see a flower mantis moving but if they realize there's an imminent threat and the predator has seen them through the disguise they will spread their wings make themselves appear as big as possible and display the eye spots on their four wings in an attempt to scare the would-be aggressor away number 9 jewel beetle beetles come in all different shapes and sizes but there's one family called buprestade which contains around 15 000 different species that are all linked together because of their unusual colorations instead of being dark colors to blend in with the undergrowth they're iridescent which has led to them being known as jewel beetles while most species are on the smaller end of the scale jewel beetles can be between point one to three and a half inches long and are usually either cylindrical or oval shaped they can be virtually any color and because they're so vivid they're some of the most sought after insects by collectors around the world what's most surprising though is that the incredible colors you see aren't anything to do with pigments in their bodies in fact their actual colors are just as dull as other beetles but what's different is the microscopic structure of their exoskeleton this complicated texture reflects light in different ways depending on the angle you're looking at it from which gives the iridescent effect and works in a similar way to the reflection of light that you see when you look at a cd or dvd while we perceive this as an explosion of color the different ways that animals interpret wavelengths of light means that potential predators mainly see warning signs and stay as far away as possible we are constantly adding more people to the top 5's production team to bring you all the best content be sure to subscribe with notifications on and hit the like button number 8 luna moth native to north america the luna moth is one of the larger species of moth on the continent their wingspan is usually up to four inches across but bigger specimens aren't uncommon and it's possible for them to grow to almost twice that size they have white bodies that are covered by their large lime green wings this forms the basis of their main form of defense because when a luna moth has landed on the branch of a tree they are virtually indistinguishable from the leaves the eye spots are used to give the impression that the moth is much larger than it actually is and provides a further way to deter any potential predators amazingly as well as the camouflage their unusual shape is thought to have a secondary protective effect the stretched out tails on their hind wings are believed to aid in interfering with the echolocation used by bats and makes the moths almost invisible to them making them nature's version of a stealth fighter the sole purpose of a luna moth in adulthood is to breed and as soon as they've emerged from their cocoon they begin searching for a mate they don't eat at all and instead survive on the fatty deposits that were built up during the caterpillar phase number seven giant weta this bizarre looking insect is called a giant weta and it's a species that's found only in new zealand there are 11 known species most of which are classified as being at near risk of extinction and are noticeably larger than other wetas they typically grow to around four inches long and on occasion have been known to be heavier than a sparrow they are arboreal insects are now mainly confined to the islands around new zealand because of the introduction of mammals to the mainland along with human impacts on their natural habitat means that the population numbers there have plummeted in the past century the latin name translates to mean terrible grasshopper and while giant wetters are usually too big to be able to fly they can cover large areas very quickly in search of vegetation to feed on they are usually active at night and are anti-social nomads they rarely congregate in numbers unless they're breeding and often move to new areas where there is better food or a greater chance of procreating they are however relatively passive creatures so while it may seem as if they have a nasty means of protecting themselves they usually let you pick them up if you don't appear to be threatening if they do feel like they're in danger they'll use their powerful hind legs to leap away as far and as fast as possible number six coletta silk moth caterpillar the coletta silk moth is a species that's native to central america across the southern states of the us and mexico but while its adult version may not be too unusual things are different when the creatures are in their larval form the caterpillars are some of the most unusual but amazing ones you'll ever see when they first hatch from their eggs they are extremely small covered in fine hairs and completely black in color but once they change into the second instar they start to develop bright colors and black spikes all over their bodies they continue to develop through different stages which add more colors but retain the black spiky structures until finally they reach the fifth instar when blue knobs begin to grow at the tip of the spikes they're surprisingly long by the time they're ready to build their cocoon and will often be several inches long because they need to ingest enough nutrients to supply energy when they've transformed into a moth the caterpillars eat huge amounts of plant matter while they're growing and are able to spray a foul smelling and generally unpleasant liquid from their glands to help prevent themselves from being eaten number five acorn weevil growing to at most a third of an inch long acorn weevils are found across europe where they live their entire lives on and around oak trees their life cycles work in tandem with those of the trees so are far more active and present in higher numbers during the summer and fall you might think at first that the long snout on the front of these peculiar insects has something to do with feeding they're actually using a mouth beneath it to nibble it leaves for all the nutrition they need strangely long snouts are more prominent on the females of the species and this is because they're used for giving birth when it's time to layer eggs the females will use this elongated rostrum to drill into the center of an acorn and it's there that she places the egg this method provides two benefits to the newborns because not only does the acorn provide ample nutrition for them to eat once they've hatched but also provides protection to the vulnerable eggs from predators it is an extremely clever way of protecting their young but there's no doubt that in the development of the appendage needed to do this acorn weevils have ended up looking very strange indeed number four thornbug [Music] bugs are a species of insect that are closely related to tree hoppers and are native to the warmer tropical regions of the americas typically grown to a length of up to four tenths of an inch long they can be found in a wide range of colors they're usually green or yellow with red or brown markings along the body what truly makes them stand out over other species though is the fact that they grow a large spiked horn on their back from a distance they look just like vegetation and even when they move they resemble leaves blowing in the wind this in itself prevents predators like birds from attacking them for fear of injuring themselves on the spike and the bugs usually get on with things without worrying about being eaten things change when they have offspring however because the thorn bug nymphs don't develop their camouflage and protection until they're older this results in one of the most competitive sibling rivalries in nature with individuals fighting the others to take the safest spot of the nest females lay as many as a hundred eggs as a time and will usually stay with them until they're old enough to fend for themselves when a predator approaches they'll likely try taking the nymphs from the edge or are furthest away from the mother and this triggers the response where the nymphs frantically try to save themselves and put one of the others in the dangerous position instead once they've reached adulthood thorn bugs often stay together in groups and follow the reactions of the others in a similar way to how flocks of birds change direction at the same time this even happens when there isn't a present threat with thorn bug colonies often exhibiting false alarm behavior where one takes evasive action after mistakingly thinking they're in trouble and all the rest follow suit too number three bagworm caterpillar there are around 1 300 known species of bagworm moths that are found in countries all over the world but while the adult stage forms of the insects can be colorful and spectacular their caterpillars are some of the strangest you'll ever see and are the reason why the creatures have their names the caterpillar larva produces cases around themselves from silk and pieces of debris such as sand lichen and leaf matter from the surrounding environment when they're resting or entering their pupa stage these cases are attached to a branch or rock but the rest of the time the caterpillars carry them around with them wherever they go amazingly in some cases these bags that they wrap around themselves can be up to six inches long even though the caterpillar inside is far smaller the bagworms stick their heads out of their cases to eat leaves when there are enough of them this often leads to the death of most of the host plant because so much damage is caused they begin building their case as soon as they're born and once they're inside it they will never fully leave the use of materials in the construction of their case means that they're naturally camouflaged within the environment that they live in and also means they're a great variety in what they look like even between ones of exactly the same species number two ant lion if you've ever been to a beach or somewhere with loose soil and have noticed a small conical shaped depression in the ground chances are you've been looking at an antlion nest despite there being more than 2 000 species and present in most countries around the world very few people have actually seen antlion larvae because they spend most of their lives underground the larva are regarded as one of the most voracious predators of the insect kingdom and their methods are as ruthless as they are effective the small insects which are no more than half an inch long will dig a pit that's around two inches deep and three inches wide then they walk backwards toward the center of the pit kick up material to cover their heads and then wait a cone shape is precisely created to be as steep as the earth can support so when another insect such as an ant walks into it they slide down the slopes to the center where the ant line is waiting normally they'll already have their open jaws slightly showing through the ground once their victim is close enough they'll snap into action they may kill their first prey in this first strike but even if they miss they usually disturb so much soil that their target is buried alive and the antlion is able to sift through and find it they are surprisingly strong unable to subdue insects that are larger than themselves but to make things even worse they aren't looking to eat everything that they catch their pincers are hollow and they use them to drain their prey of all fluid before throwing the dry carcass back out of the pit and setting themselves up for their next meal number one brazilian treehopper of the more than a million species of insect around the world the weirdest has to be the brazilian treehopper as the name would suggest they are native to south america but also north america africa asia and australia and they spend their entire lives in the trees it's there that as larva they suck the sap from the underside of the leaves and the females either use the leaves to lay their eggs or will even inject them directly into plants growing to less than an inch long brazilian tree hoppers have a unique appendage that's unlike anything else in the animal kingdom researchers still aren't sure what its purpose is they have what's best described as a helicopter-like growth from the thorax with globules at each end it's unlikely these developed as an ornamental structure so they must be there for a particular reason but beyond guesses that they help evade predators or perhaps aid in finding mates we're still to learn the full truth behind these bizarre insects watch our animals playlist for more top 15 videos about animals sit back relax and binge watch all of our best animal related videos you

Channel: Top Fives

Views: 37,744

Keywords: BIZARRE Looking Insects, insects

Id: wIxqTHGhSfs

Length: 19min 27sec (1167 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 11 2021