Insects and their ilk are really cool. I intend to persuade you to love bugs. All you birders out there may as well consider bugs the new birds. Like birds, they’re everywhere, fun to count and add to life lists, and exhibit a wide array of interesting behaviors. Forget being a birder, now we’re buggers.

Learn more fun wildlife facts by staying up to date with Flocking Around!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Links below may lead to affiliate sites.

Bug Out!

Insects are amazing! As the most diverse group of animals, they exhibit extraordinary adaptations, behaviors, colors, social structures, and more. They are small but mighty, and miraculous in many ways. They make the world go ’round and keep the planet healthy and functioning. And, every time they are studied or examined, they offer something new to learn! 

An unimaginable number of insects inhabit the world- an estimated 10 quintillion individual insects share the world with us. That is 10,000,000,000,000,000,000. To compare, the Milky Way is about one quintillion meters long, just a tenth of the number of insects on Earth! That’s a lot of bugs! The great thing about having so many is that they surround us at all times, and there is always some fantastic little form of life ready to be discovered and explored. They make excellent subjects for studying. Anyone of any age can look at a bug and be inspired!  

Learn more about what makes insects so awesome!

The Ultimate Insect Smack-Down: 10 Amazing Bug Facts

Bugs get a bad rap, but all they really need is better press! With this article, I'll rank the 10 most extraordinary things insects do and show why these incredible creatures deserve more appreciation and love!

10. Caddisfly Larvae: Beautiful Builders

Aquatic invertebrates are fascinating. One of my favorite summertime activities—especially with kids—is flipping over river rocks to look for bugs. The most incredible bug to find is undoubtedly the caddisfly.

These insects use silk to spin a protective casing. They often ornament these casings with rocks, gravel, sticks, and other river debris they find. These help strengthen the caddisfly’s protection, and they make extraordinary designs. Especially in places that have bright rocks or sparkly minerals, caddisfly casings are dazzling!

9. Dung Beetles Down Under

Dung beetles deserve more credit. The planet would be covered in poop if not for the 5,000 different species of dung beetles. Dung beetles eat poo, among other things, and they lay their eggs in it. The beetles roll the poop into balls, wheel them off, lay their eggs, then bury the lil poop cradle. This helps aerate fields, fertilize, and control fly populations.

Australia’s native species of dung beetles evolved with marsupial turds, which are coarse and pellet-like. Cattle were first brought to Australia in 1788, and the native dung beetles struggled to keep up with the cows’ big, juicy pies. By the 1950s, Australia was drowning in poop. The cow pies made perfect breeding grounds for biting flies and parasites. Finally, in the ’60s, the Australian people were so tired of the poo that they imported dung beetles from Africa. By the 80s, Australia’s poop crisis had been handled. Thanks to dung beetles.

Wanna catch 'em all? This net will help!

8.  The Anti-Sonar Equipment of Moths

Moths and butterflies of the order Lepidoptera are covered in scales. Scales are like the Swiss-army-knife of the insect world. They assist in flight. They allow for a quick escape from spider webs. They attract mates. And, perhaps most impressive of all, they are sonar-blocking. 

Moths, in particular, are extra fluffy. Since they fly at night, bats present their largest threat. To combat the bat's echolocation, fluffy moth scales captures sound waves without emitting a reverberating sound wave. They thwart their predators with fluff!

7. The World’s Top Predator: It would be a DRAG not to be a dragonfly

Dragonflies have large eyes, strong mandibles, and powerful wings. Each of their four wings can move and rotate separately, giving dragonflies incredible agility, maneuverability, and speed. Their favorite meal is small flies, and they eat hundreds of mosquitoes daily. 

Dragonflies are the most successful predators on the planet. For comparison: wolves catch about 20% of the prey they go after. Lions are successful about 30% of the time. Sharks are at about 50%. Dragonflies have successful hunts 95% of the time! Wowza!

Get up-close views of awesome bugs!

6. Wasps: Particularly Potent Parasitic Predators

Wasps make for incredible pest control. While wasps eat nectar and are excellent pollinators, they primarily rely on other insects for food. A small colony of wasps can kill and consume thousands of mosquitoes, flies, spiders, and caterpillars in a single day. With powerful mandibles and killer instincts, they are fearsome predators and particularly fierce when it comes to giving their young a head-start at life. Wasps in the families Ichneumonidae, Chalcididae, and Braconidae are all known for being parasitoids. They find other insects, paralyze them with their stinger, and then bury them underground or in a unique mud shelter. 

Parasitoid wasps help control pests like mosquitoes and rarely sting people. Look for these awesome little friends and appreciate their adaptations!

5. Cyclical Cicada Singing and Silliness: Periodical Cicada Madness

Cicadas are awesome. Their loud whirring songs are a hallmark of summertime. Many cicadas spend a year underground as larvae before emerging as adults. Still, some species of cicadas have developed a unique adaptation where they only emerge every 13 or 17 years. That’s right, these bugs spend over a decade eating nutrients in the soil, getting bigger, molting, and preparing for their dramatic ascent into adulthood!

Wanna know what the bugs in your backyard are? We recommend the Princeton Field Guide to Insects of North America!

Cicadas received considerable attention in 2024 when a 13-year brood (Brood XIX) and a 17-year brood (Brood XIII) emerged at the same time in similar areas in the Eastern US. Millions of insects emerged and spent over a month emitting loud, boisterous songs. Their emergence was not only an entertaining phenomenon for people to watch, but many other animals gathered to eat the mass emergence of bugs!

4. Formidable Firefly Flares

Fireflies display magnificent light shows every summer as part of their mating rituals. In particular, the Great Smoky Mountains of the US see vast numbers of fireflies gather to show off their impressive lights. Many species of fireflies will flash in unison, and each species has a unique flashing pattern to help males and females find mates of their own species. These beetles light up with the help of specialized glands in their abdomens that produce the chemical luciferin. By exposing this chemical to oxygen (maybe like a reverse fart?), a reaction occurs that lights 'em up! 

3. Miraculous Metamorphosis

Butterflies and moths undergo incredible transformations from their larval to adult stages. They change entirely while within a cocoon. Most amazing, recent research has shown that butterflies remember what they learned as caterpillars. Despite having their brain and other organs dissolve, they still retain preferences and dislikes.

2. World-wide Wanderers

Migrations of any species are incredible. How do animals know when and where to migrate? What drives them? These questions are particularly potent when considering insects. They’re so small, yet they go so far!

The Globe Skimmer (Pantala flavescens), a small, yellowish dragonfly, holds the record for the longest insect migration. These insects take several generations to fly 11,200 miles, and each individual may fly up to 4,000 miles. They range across the entire world, and it is theorized that they fly over oceans using wind currents.

Monarch migration is also awe-inspiring. It can take up to six generations of monarchs to fly from Southern California or Mexico to Canada, about 3,000 miles. Then, in the fall, a single butterfly will make that journey in reverse. They are awe-inspiring creatures, gathering in the thousands in the forests of California and Mexico. This sight tops my bucket list!

1. Super Sized Society

Finally! The most remarkable thing that bugs do: form complex societies. Ants, termites, and honey bees are some of the only eusocial insects. Many bugs form small social groups, but these stand-out groups are impressive. An individual ant is not particularly spectacular, but a colony of ants can build a city spanning a continent. Seriously- the invasive Argentine Ant Supercolony in Europe spans 3,700 miles (while invasive species are terrible, you must admit this is impressive.) Even more astounding, ants can both farm and ranch. They grow fungi! They selectively breed and herd aphids! And they use tactics when different colonies go to war! Read this article to learn more about that! Did I mention that ants rule the world?

The most fascinating thing about eusocial insects is not what they do but how they do it. Research has shown that each individual ant has a unique personality. Some are more willing to take charge and lead their fellow insects during disasters. At the same time, some are more timid about venturing out alone. So, how do all of these individuals cooperate so effectively? That is why I find insects so inspiring. There is always another question to ask and another thing to learn!

Bugs are the Bee's Knees

Insects display amazing behaviors, colors, social structures, adaptations, and more. Narrowing this list to ONLY 10 amazing bug facts was very difficult because they do so many amazing things! Take the time to appreciate these complex little forms of life. The more we explore, the more we understand, which makes us happier and leads to better conservation. So, get out there, and get bugging!

Flocking Around posts silly, informative articles about wildlife. To keep up-to-date with the latest from Flocking Around, Join the Flock, subscribe to our Flocking YouTube, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter, and visit our Amazon Storefront.