We’ve got the buzz about bugs, so let’s explore our six-legged pollinators. Will you take the sting out of this quiz and get 5/5 or just call pest control?
#1. Spitfires or sawfly larvae don’t actually spit fire to fend off hungry birds and other predators, but what do they actually do?
Spitfires regurgitate eucalyptus goop to fend off predators.
#2. The fastest insect is Australia’s tiger beetle Cicindela hudsoni who can run 2.5 metres per second (9 km/h). What happens to them when they run fast?
The tiger beetle runs so fast that their brain can’t keep up and they go temporarily blind.
#3. Which part of an insect’s body do their legs attach to?
All 6 legs attach to the insect’s thorax.
#4. In 2017 NASA sent fruit flies into space to the International Space Station (ISS). After returning to Earth several weeks later, the hearts of the fruit flies had anatomically changed.
True. The hearts from space fruit flies were smaller, and the muscle fibres grew in the wrong direction making it weaker as well.
#5. Scientists often have fun naming their discoveries after famous people. Which celebrities have an insect named after them and why?
All of these celebrities have insects named after them. Donald Trump has a moth (Neopalpa donaldtrumpi), Kate Winslet has a beetle (Agra katewinsletae), Beyoncé has a fly (Scaptia beyonceae)
Results
Congratulations! You are a real science whiz!
Oh dear! Better brush up before the next quiz!
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