Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. Today, there are more than a million described species and most of them may still be undiscovered. In addition, they are very abundant in number. For example, there may be as many ants in each anthill as there are humans in New York City.
However, they are not the animals most admired by the human population. Its articulated legs, its exoskeleton and, surely, its enormous differences with respect to us, generate a lot of rejection. Whether or not it's your case, after reading this article on our site you will appreciate them a little more. We talk about the most beautiful insects in the world
Classification of insects
Before discovering some of the most beautiful insects in the world, we should talk a little about what they are. In this way, we will be able to understand them a little better. So let's see a very brief classification of insects.
Insects are invertebrate and arthropod animals This means that they have no internal skeleton and have jointed legs, respectively. Within the arthropods we can also find crustaceans and arachnids. So, beware, spiders are not insects, although they are arthropods.
In addition, insects are hexapods, that is, they have six legs and their body is divided into head, thorax and abdomen.
Types of insects
There are many types of insects and, within each group, there are thousands and thousands of species. They occupy all possible habitats and are distributed throughout the world. So, let's try to be brief. These are the most abundant types of insects:
- Odonatos. It includes many of the most beautiful insects in the world. They are dragonflies and damselflies.
- Orthoptera. Includes grasshoppers and crickets.
- Lepidoptera. In this group we find flying insects such as butterflies and moths.
- Diptera. They are flies and mosquitoes.
- Dictyoptera. Cockroaches, termites and mantises.
- Hemiptera. Includes insects well known to farmers: cicadas, bedbugs and aphids.
- Coleoptera. It is the group of insects with the largest number of species. Let's talk about beetles.
- Hymenoptera. They are, perhaps, the most enigmatic insects: bees, wasps and ants.
The most beautiful flying insects in the world
Now that we know these animals well, we are ready to discover some of the most beautiful insects in the world. To do this, we are going to divide them into flying and non-flying insects We hope you like them as much as we do and, if you know more, share them with all of us.
Starting with the flyers, the presence of wings in an animal is something that always attracts our attention, even in an insect. In fact, when we imagine a beautiful insect, a butterfly almost always comes to mind. Can you think of any more? We leave you a list of the most beautiful flying insects in the world.
1. Long dragonfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Despite its name and appearance, it is neither a dragonfly nor a wasp. This pretty insect is actually a Diptera. It is a fly of the hoverfly family.
These flying insects are distributed almost all over the world and are pollinators, like bees. Their coloration is due to a survival mechanism known as Batesian mimicry. Predators mistake them for wasps, so they decide it's best not to eat them and avoid getting stung.
two. Blue Damselfly (Calopterix virgo)
This odonate is one of the most beautiful insects in the world. These flying insects are very common in small rivers and streams throughout Europe. Their presence indicates that the water is of high quality, since they need very clean, cool and oxygen-rich water.
Males are metallic blue and females they have a reddish brown color. Both mate while flying and the outline of their bodies forms a heart.
3. Schoenherr's blue weevil (Eupholus schoenherri)
This beetle can be found in Papua New Guinea. It belongs to the curculionidae family, also known as weevils. Their electric-blue and aqua-greencolors indicate their bad taste to predators. Thus, the beetles avoid an unnecessary death and the predators, an annoyance. This type of visual communication is called aposematism.
4. Atlas butterfly (Attacus atlas)
This flying insect is considered one of the largest butterflies in the world, with a wingspan of up to 30 centimeters. It inhabits the tropical forests of Asia and the silk from its large larvae is highly prized.
However, not only is it one of the most recognized beautiful insects worldwide due to its size, but its colors and shapes have also earned it this well-deserved fame.
5. Striped bug (Graphosoma lineatum)
Bedbugs are very common animals among us, although they often go unnoticed or are mistaken for beetles. However, many of them could be on this list of the most beautiful insects in the world.
The striped bug is herbivorous and can be easily seen on umbelliferous plants such as fennel, dill or hemlock. Its bright colors, as in the previous case of the blue weevil, are a warning about its unpleasant taste.
6. Podalirius (Iphiclides podalirius)
Next to the macaon (Papilio machaon) it is one of the most beautiful butterflies that can be seen in Spain. Witnessing its flight is a real spectacle, due to its showiness and its large size. The females can reach more than three inches in wingspan.
In its coloration the ocelli of its hind wings stand out. Predators confuse them with their eyes, so they direct their attacks towards that area, avoiding further damage. This is a very common type of communication between animals.
7. Ruby-tailed Wasp (Chrysis ignita)
This green and pink insect belongs to the Chrysididae family. Members of this family are known as "cuckoo wasps." This is because they are parasitoid insects, that is, they lay their eggs in the nests of other insects. When Chrysididae larvae hatch, they devour host larvae.
8. Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)
Mantids are characterized by their great ability to camouflage in their surroundings. The orchid mantis, as its name suggests, camouflages itself by mimicking one of these flowers. This allows it not only to go unnoticed by predators, but also to deceive its prey. They approach them thinking that it is a flower and become their lunch.
If you are interested in unique animals, we leave you this article on our site about the rarest insects in the world.
9. Rainbow Grasshopper (Dactylotum bicolor)
The also known as the painted grasshopper lives in North America, including Mexico. It is part of the Acrididae family. Its intense colors and drawing patterns, as in previous cases, are a trait of aposematism: its function is to ward off predators.
10. Great gray witch (Thysania agrippina)
The emperor butterfly or great gray witch is a moth, that is, a nocturnal butterfly. Its drawing patterns allow us to include it in this list of the most beautiful insects in the world. Although the most amazing thing about it is not its color, but its size. These flying insects can reach a wingspan of 30 centimeters.
If you want to know more about large insects, we leave you an article on our site about the largest insects in the world.
The most beautiful flightless insects in the world
It is less common to find beauty in a wingless insect. However, as we shall now see, it is also possible. We leave you some of the most beautiful non-flying insects.
1. Ladybug Cockroach (Prosoplecta)
If there is an animal that you did not expect to find on the list of the most beautiful insects in the world, it is a cockroach. However, we believe that the species of the genus Prosoplecta deserve to be in it, because these Asian cockroaches are very similar to ladybirds or ladybugs, animals that they arouse the sympathy of most of us.
two. Velvet ants (family Mutillidae)
Velvet ants are hair-covered insects. Despite their name, are not ants, but rather a type of wingless wasp. A well-known example is the endangered panda ant (Euspinolia militaris). Despite their cute appearance, the females have a stinger and a very painful sting.
