Researchers are constantly discovering new insects, and some of them are shockingly small. For instance, the smallest insect in the world is a beetle called Scydosella musawasensis that’s just 0.139 mm long.
Males of Dicopomorpha echmepterygis, another fairy wasp, are even smaller. Their tiny bodies, neatly packaged with complete digestive, reproductive, respiratory, and circulatory systems, are actually smaller than some single-celled organisms.
Fairy Flies
Fairy flies, also known as tinkerbella wasps, are tiny insects that belong to the family Mymaridae. They are incredibly small—some species reach only 0.13 millimeters (0.0051 inch) in length. That makes them harder to find than most other insects, but they play an important role as pollinators in the environment.
Scientists have identified several different fairy wasps, but the smallest is probably Dicopomorpha echmepterygis. This tiny insect was first discovered in 1833 by entomologist Alexander Henry Halliday. As their name suggests, fairy flies aren’t actually true flies. They’re actually parasitic wasps that attack the eggs of other insect species. This is why they’re often used in pest control for agricultural and horticultural crops.
The tiniest fairy wasps are completely wingless and can be found in humid rainforests and deserts. To make up for their lack of wings, they have tiny feathery frills around their bodies. These frills help them grip on to air a bit like mini paddles. They also reduce the potential for turbulence and drag during flight.
There are a few other ways that fairy wasps minimize themselves to such a mind-blowingly small size. For example, they super-condense their DNA and squeeze out extra cytoplasm. They also jettison most of their neurons, leaving just 7400 remaining, which is a minimum for survival.
Another insect that’s amazingly small is the pygmy marmoset. These critters live in trees in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and are only 13.7 inches long.
Despite their diminutive appearance, pygmy marmosets are quite intelligent and have been shown to recognize faces and learn simple tricks. They’re also very social, living in groups of up to 50 animals.
Another animal that’s almost too tiny for words is the Scydosella musawasensis beetle, a new species from Nicaragua and Colombia. This bug is incredibly tiny—at just over 0.13 millimeters (0.0051 in) long, it’s the smallest insect ever recorded. The researchers who discovered the beetle were able to identify it by using scanning electron microscopes and advanced computer programs to create high-precision digital micrographs of the tiny creature. Scydosella musawasensis feeds on the spores of Basidiomycota fungi, which is also its natural habitat.
Weevils
A weevil is a type of beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea that is distinguished by its long, narrow snout. There are over 97,000 species of weevils, and many are agricultural and household pests that eat or infest stored grains. Weevils are often found in cereal grain, though they also attack beans and other legumes. The cowpea weevil, for example, is a serious pest of stored cowpeas and soybeans. Some weevils fly, while others are wingless.
The world’s smallest insect is the tiny parasitic wasp Dicopomorpha echmepterygis, which lays its eggs inside the eggs of other insects. It is only 0.127 mm in length. The North American Feather-winged Beetle Nanosella fungi is another contender for the title of smallest insect, with a wingspan of less than one-third of a millimeter.
It’s not uncommon for people to react with a mixture of delight and disgust at the sight of insects, from the graceful Monarch butterfly to the scurrying cockroach. But when it comes to the smallest insect in the world, most people don’t feel much reaction at all, probably because these tiny creatures are so hard to see.
These insects are so small that they can only be observed under a microscope, and even then their movements are barely perceptible. The only way to witness the micro-flight of the tiniest insect is to use a high-speed camera to capture its tiny motions. This is exactly what researchers at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands did.
They used a 22,000 frames-per-second camera to film the tiny parasitic wasp, and found that it beats its wings 14 times in the time it takes for two TV images to pass across your living room screen. The team calls the resulting footage a “tiny wing ballet.”
Because weevils usually gain entry into homes through infested food products purchased at supermarkets or from friends and relatives, it is difficult to control weevil infestations. However, a few simple measures can help. Start by regularly inspecting all new purchases of whole-grain foods before storing them in cupboards or pantries. This will eliminate any weevils that may be hitching a ride in the commercial packaging. You can also store any leftover cereal-grain products in the freezer for four days before putting them into your cupboards, which will kill any weevils that might be hiding within them.
Ants
Many people have a strong reaction when they see a butterfly or a cockroach, but few realize that there are insects even smaller than those. These tiny creatures are rarely seen by humans, and much about them is unknown. Their minuscule size makes them difficult to study, but that doesn’t mean they don’t play important roles in ecosystems around the world.
The smallest insect in the world is probably the fairyfly, Dicopomorpha echmepterygis. This insect is a parasitic wasp in the order Hymenoptera and measures less than one-fifth of a millimeter in length. The ant is another contender for the title of smallest insect, but it can’t hold a candle to Dicopomorpha in terms of speed or strength. The ants we are most familiar with, such as the pharaoh ant or yellow ants found in homes around the world, measure about 2 mm.
In the family Formicidae, there are more than 10,000 species of ants. These social insects are found in most regions of the world and live together in organized colonies. They are eusocial insects that evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. Ants are a powerful insect and are useful in a variety of ways. They are pollinators for plants and spread seeds, and they are also decomposers that help to break down organic waste.
While some ants are aggressive, most are not. Ants that are nest mates can use their antennae to communicate with each other about the chemical composition of their surroundings. Scientists are now investigating how this communication is made possible.
A beetle in the genus Scydosella is considered the smallest insect in the world. This tiny bug is so small that it can only be seen with a microscope. In order to get a better look at this beetle, scientists used high-speed video to record the action. The beetle moves about 900 times faster than a television can show, and in the time it takes for a TV image to appear, the beetle has already beaten its wings 14 times. This beetle is found in Central America and Mexico.
Beetles
A beetle may not look like much, but this insect order is home to many tiny creatures that are smaller than some single-celled organisms. The smallest beetle in the world is the genus Scydosella musawasensis, which measures just 0.16 millimeters long. It is a member of the family Ptiliidae and is found in tropical and subtropical regions.
Beetles have evolved from the wingless larvae of other insects. They have two pairs of wings that they keep folded under hard covers called elytra. When flying, beetles open these wing covers and allow the delicate hindwings to fly freely. This arrangement is what makes them different from other winged insects. It also gives them their name, which comes from the Greek koleon, meaning sheathed wing, and ptera, which means wings.
While most beetles are scavengers of dead plant material, some beetles prey on other insects or even small animals. Others feed on fungi. These beetles are a testament to the vast diversity that exists in the insect kingdom.
The simplest test for determining whether something is a beetle is that it will crunch when you step on it. This is a good indication that it was a beetle and not a stone or other hard object. Beetles do not have lungs, but they do have holes in their sides that lead to trachea that act in the same way. The trachea are lined with something that looks very similar to blood, which is what allows beetles to breathe.
Interestingly, many species of beetles can make sounds by rubbing together their hard parts, a practice called stridulation. This creates a vibration that produces a shrill creaking noise. It is most often used as a mating signal or a warning of danger, but it can also be a way for beetles to communicate with other members of their species.
Beetles go through a complete metamorphosis, growing from egg into active larva then inactive pupa before becoming an adult. The process usually takes a few months in the case of some beetles, and can take up to four years for some species.