For the first time the word insect is found in Russian sources in 1731, and literally meant "an animal with notches." But the name of this class was introduced into scientific circulation in 1758. Among all the variety of forms, we will consider the smallest representatives, and we will find out what is the smallest insect, and most importantly, thanks to photographs, we will learn how these amazing specimens of terrestrial fauna look. After all, meeting them in life is quite problematic. Here are the smallest insects in the world.
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Nanosella fungi
In the forests of the eastern part of the United States, the species of beetles is widespread, which for a long time were considered the smallest insects.
But then entomologists came to the conclusion that the measurements were made with an error, and the beetle with a body size of 0.39 millimeters took an honorable second place among the smallest winged animals.
But this species is so small that it lives in the spore tanks of mulberry mushrooms.
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Scydosella musawasensis
Photo by Alexey Polilov
This species of microscopic beetles was discovered by the scientific world of biology in 1999, and in 2015 this beetle was recognized as the smallest among beetles.
The average length of individuals is 0.337 mm, and the largest specimen has grown to 0.352 mm. Remarkably, the Russian coleopterologist Alexei Polilov accurately determined the size of the beetle.
Like relatives, this beetle lives in tubular layers of mulberry mushrooms, and received a specific name in the first place it was found in Nicaragua.
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Megaphragma mymaripenne
Photo by Alexey Polilov
Small sizes determine both the lifestyle and the structure of the body and internal organs. In this small bee, the brain is completely devoid of chromosomes, and the life cycle is only 5 days.
This species of riders of a diverse family of Megaphragma does not grow more than 0.2 millimeters. These wasps are common in almost all parts of the world, except, perhaps, Asia, and, naturally, Antarctica.
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Megaphragma caribea
Photo by Alexey Polilov
At the very beginning of the 90s of the last century, a new species of tiny insects was discovered, which received the Latin name Megaphragma caribea.
The size of insects from the Trichogrammatidae family does not exceed 0.171 millimeters. Their habitat is the small islands of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.
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Mymaridae haliday
But the megafarm wasps were not the smallest, but leadership was firmly captured by the miramid wasps. Among these hymenopteran insects, there are individuals reaching body sizes up to 4 millimeters, and there are also quite microscopic representatives.
They parasitize on bugs, less often on bugs. Entomologists have recently discovered specimens of miramids that can live on aquatic insects.
Most of this family lives in Europe, today in this part of the planet there are more than 500 species of wasp-miramids. Perhaps theBiggest will soon make a short article about them.
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Dicopomorpha echmepterygis
Entomologists discovered one of the smallest insects on the planet in 1997 in Central America. These parasitic riders from a large family of chalcidoid do not grow more than 0.139 millimeters in length.
Interestingly, females have wings, and they are slightly larger than wingless males. It feeds on Dicopomorpha echmepterygis with the larvae of other insects.
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Alaptus magnanimus annandale
Among the family already represented by os-mimarids, there is also the smallest insect in the world - Alaptus magnatimus. It is difficult to imagine, but adults are smaller than single-celled ciliates, shoes, and do not exceed 0.12 millimeters.
They discovered the smallest insect species in 1909. Probably, even if you meet this crumb, it is unlikely that you can see it without special devices.
A few fascinating facts:
- The smallest insects mainly lead a parasitic lifestyle. With such a small size, they simply could not exist and eat on their own.
- The small size and lifestyle during evolution have changed the structure of the cell. In most small parasites, the cell lacks a nucleus, and the brain has chromosomes.
- The wings of the smallest insects are so reproduced that they consist of only a pair of veins. The life expectancy of many of the presented species does not exceed 7 days, but with tiny sizes for them it seems to be infinitely long.
- Some species of Mymaridae parasitize on aquatic insects, and following them, adapted to stay under water for up to 15 days.
We hope that we did not tire our reader with Latin names, because the information is really interesting. It is known from the school bench that we are surrounded by millions of insects, and it turns out that we do not notice some of them.
Entomologists from all over the world do not give up hope to find an insect of even smaller sizes, and, perhaps, over time, humanity will learn about the new name of the smallest insect on the planet. If you know even smaller insects, write about them in the comments. TheBiggest always expects feedback from our readers.
Article author: Valery Skiba
Editor's Note: This article has been updated since its initial publication in October 2017.