Just as we suspected… creepy! Let’s take a look at some interestingly gross facts about bugs.
Certain ants can and will explode when they’re under attack. The Colobopsis explodens ants kill themselves to protect their colony by splitting their skin open and coating their attacker’s in a yellow goo that will either kill them or severely hinder them. And frankly, this is a lose-lose. We would do just about anything for our friends and family, but splitting our own skin open? And from the attacker’s point of view, getting covered in a yellow goo from another insect’s insides? Immediately no.
We wouldn’t consider many bugs cute, but ladybugs? They truly are the exception. But we are here to squash that cutesy front by telling you that they can be cannibalistic and in fact, the larvae are much more likely to survive and develop quicker if they consume their unhatched sibling/s.
And speaking of ladybugs, these once cute creatures squirt a smelly substance from their knees to deter predators. If you’re like us and you’re wondering what this substance smells like, researchers can tell us that it smells like a combination of nuts, green bell pepper, potato, and moldy odors. Oh, we’ll pass.
Slugs can simply exist and that’s enough gross-ness for us, but if we have to know this fact then so do you, slugs can stretch 20x their normal length. Now, this is so they can fit through smaller spaces, but we’ll be honest, we know too much now.
And while we’re on the topic of slugs, they are considered “gastropods” which translates to stomach foot. A single, slimy foot.
Asian giant hornets are, you guessed it, giant. Seriously. They’re the largest hornet species on the planet measuring in at 2.2 inches long and flying as fast as 25 mph. But wait, it gets worse. If you get stung by one of these massive creatures its venom can actually dissolve your skin and begin to attack your nervous system. Once again, gross, and also no thank you.
If you’ve ever looked at an earthworm and thought, ‘what exactly is going on here’, then you aren’t alone and we have a little bit of an answer for you, though we will say, ignorance was bliss. Earthworms don’t have eyes, nor do they have ears, nor do they have lungs. But they do have exactly five hearts and a digestive tract. So, there’s that.