What was the biggest insect on Earth?

A dragonfly that lived about 310 million years ago. The insect had a wingspan of 271/2 inches (69.9 cm)! That’s about the distance from the tip of your nose to the end of your arm. The biggest dragonfly today has a wingspan of less than 5 inches (12.7 cm).

Which is the meanest fly?

A kind of gall midge fly. Gall midge flies are born inside their mother’s body. Once born, they start eating her insides! In about two days they have eaten her whole body. The newborns then crawl out, leaving behind the hard, empty shell of the mother. Talk about rotten kids!

Which flies are like helicopters?

The hoverfly, bee fly, and flower fly. Most flies can only fly forward. But these three can fly forward and backward. They can even hover in place.

Are flies dirty?

Not all of them. Flies that live in dirty surroundings are dirty. A fly may walk around on rotting food, garbage, and other filth. Germs stick to its legs, mouth parts, and hairy body. Its legs alone may have over one million germs! If you see a fly near your sandwich, shoo it away. Flies that touch your food may leave harmful germs behind.

Do flies taste with their tongues?

No—mostly because they don’t have tongues! Flies taste with their feet. First they step on food. If their feet tell them it tastes good, they eat it. But flies can’t eat solid foods. They can only sip liquids. House flies and fruit flies soak up liquids with their mouth parts and then sip the liquid. Or they drop saliva on solid food, changing it into a liquid that they then drink. Sand flies, stable flies, and female mosquitoes have sharp mouth parts. They stab the victim and then sip its blood.

How did army ants get their name?

From the way they march along in huge troops of between 10,000 and 30,000,000 soldiers! Their feet make a loud rustling noise as they walk. Some people find this the scariest animal sound in the world. Army ants also give off a smell like rotting meat. Often they kill and eat other insects, spiders, or larger animals that do not escape in time.

Are ants strong?

You bet. An ant can lift a weight 50 times as heavy as its body. If you were that strong, you could pick up a car weighing nearly 2 tons (2.1 t)! Ants are also very fast walkers. The hotter it is, the faster they walk. Try shading some ants with a piece of cardboard on a hot, sunny day, and watch them slow down.