Honeybees that 'cook' their enemies and other captivating bugs

(Courtesy of the CDC, via WikimediaCommons)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Creepy, crawly bugs of all varieties are known to freak people out, but some have more unusual characteristics than others.

In appreciation of the wide variety of strange creatures that inhabit this planet, we’ve compiled a list of five bugs that are especially quirky.

Let us know what your favorite bugs are in the comment section.

The tick whose bite makes you allergic to meat

As if the idea of getting a tick wasn’t terrifying enough, there is a species on the East Coast known to make the people it bites allergic to meat. Thankfully, Lone Star tick bites are still a relatively rare occurrence, but the number of people reporting the bites has been growing, according to CBS.

“So how can an arachnid bite cause you to suddenly become allergic to hamburgers? Experts say Lone Star tick bites transmit a sugar called alpha-gal, which is also present in meats like beef, venison and pork,” KSL contributor Grant Olsen explained in a recent article.

“Our bodies normally process alpha-gal just fine when it’s in our food, but certain tick bites trigger the immune system to identify alpha-gal as a foreign substance and build up antibodies against it,” he wrote.

Photo credit: CDC, via WikimediaCommons

The honeybees that ‘cook’ their enemies

Bees can work together to do more than make honey. When Asian giant hornets attack, Japanese honeybees come together to form “hot defensive bee balls” to protect their hives and cook the predators to death.

“The bees' strange defensive tactic evolved because their venomous stingers are too small to pierce the thick exoskeletons of the giant hornets — insects which can grow about two inches (five centimeters) long,” a National Geographic article reads. “The quivering of muscle fibers from so many bees creates real heat that kills off the predators.”

Inside the balls of bees, temperatures can soar up to about 117 degrees, according to the article. Researchers said the bees can maintain the heat for an hour. Humans should be grateful for the little honey bees’ work — about 40 people die each year after being stung by Asian giant hornets, which are the largest hornets in the world.

Photo credit: Takashi, via WikimediaCommons

The spider who spends all of its time underwater

If you thought you were safe from spiders while in the water, you were mistaken. Commonly called the diving bell spider, Argyroneta aquatica spends its entire life underwater, according to University of Adelaide researcher Roger Seymour.

Once a day, the European spiders make a trip to the surface to carry air bubbles on their fine hairs back to their web, BBC reported. A 2011 study found the spiders also use the air-bubble web as a sort of gill, because oxygen is driven into the bubble from the water when levels drop.

“Interestingly, while they’re waiting in the bubble and a little fish or some other aquatic insect larva comes by and touches the silk, the spider will run out and grab it and kill it,” Seymour told Wired. “But before eating it, it goes back to the bubble and enlarges it.”

Photo credit: Baupi, via WikimediaCommons

The moth with a 10-inch wingspan

The Atlas Moth, also known as the Attacus atlas, is not your average moth. This Southeast Asian satuniid can grow to have a wingspan of slightly over 10 inches. For perspective, the tree sparrow has an average wingspan of 8.3 inches.

The moths typically have colorful designs on their large wings. Even while still a caterpillar, the Attacus atlas is noteworthy.

“The large, striking Atlas Moth larvae (caterpillars) are well defended,” an Encyclopedia of Life entry reads. “They are able to spray a strong-smelling defensive secretion that apparently is used against vertebrate and ant predators. This can be sprayed up to 50 cm either as a droplet or fine stream.”

Photo credit: Quartl, via WikimediaCommons

The furry caterpillar with hidden, toxic spikes

This caterpillar might look like a toupee, but putting it anywhere near your body would be a terrible idea. Called the puss caterpillar, the small creature was reportedly responsible for sending numerous children to the hospital in 2014. Researchers say it is one of the most venomous caterpillars in the U.S.

“A puss caterpillar sting feels like a bee sting, only worse,” entomologist Don Hall told National Geographic. “The pain immediately and rapidly gets worse after being stung, and can even make your bones hurt.”

The toxins are contained in spines that stick to people’s skin when they make contact. Hall said the pain can radiate in someone’s shoulder for as long as 12 hours if they are stung on the hand. As if that weren’t bad enough, once the caterpillars mature into moths, the females are known to fling their poop.

Photo credit: CDC, via WikimediaCommons

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Natalie Crofts

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