Insects
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8correct to beat the crowd
This bug trivia quiz has 100 free questions with answers and covers the insect world from the basics (how many legs, how many body segments, which order holds ants, bees and wasps) to the strange corners: the bombardier beetle's boiling chemical spray, the 17-year cicada, the mayfly that lives for minutes as an adult, the desert ants that serve as living honey pots, and the 1875 locust swarm that darkened the sky over Nebraska. The easy questions suit kids and classroom bug units: what caterpillars become, which insect pollinates most of our crops, which creature is an arachnid rather than an insect. The medium ones cover metamorphosis, honey bee roles and the waggle dance, mosquito-borne diseases and how fireflies glow. The hard ones ask about mouthparts, mimicry, the largest wingspan alive today and the 75 cm dragonfly relative from the fossil record. Every answer has been checked against a reference encyclopaedia, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered.
30 of 100 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many legs do all adult insects typically possess?
Six
Adult insects have three pairs of jointed legs, all attached to the middle body section, whereas arachnids such as scorpions and ticks have eight.
Q 02An adult insect's body is typically divided into how many main segments?
Three
The head carries the eyes, antennae and mouthparts; the middle section carries the legs and wings; the abdomen holds most of the internal organs.
Q 03Albert's swarm of 1875, the largest locust swarm ever recorded, held an estimated how many insects?
12.5 trillion
Albert's swarm was estimated at 12.5 trillion Rocky Mountain locusts, covering about 198,000 square miles, an area larger than California, and weighing some 27.5 million tons.
Q 04Which insect secretes the resin used for French polish and glossy candy coatings?
Lac bug
It takes an estimated 50,000 to 300,000 lac bugs to yield a single kilogram of shellac.
Q 05Which of these insects lives in highly organized colonies with a queen, workers and soldiers?
Ant
Ants are eusocial insects living in colonies of a few dozen to millions, with a division of labor: the queen, workers and soldiers each play a specific role in the colony's survival and reproduction.
Q 06Periodical cicadas of the genus Magicicada spend how many years underground before emerging en masse?
13 or 17
Magicicada broods emerge after 13 or 17 years underground; the prime-numbered cycles may stop them syncing with shorter-lived predators, and the nymphs spend about 99.5% of their lives below ground.
Q 07What is the largest living insect in terms of wingspan?
White Witch Moth
The White Witch Moth (Thysania agrippina), found in Central and South America, holds the record for the widest wingspan of any living insect, reaching up to 30 cm (12 in).
Q 08Which insect order has hardened forewings that protect the hindwings?
Coleoptera
Beetles fold their membranous flight wings beneath these armoured cases, which lets them burrow and squeeze into tight spaces without damage.
Q 09Which solitary wasps mould nests from wet earth and stock each cell with paralysed spiders?
Mud daubers
Mud daubers build mud nests; each cell holds one egg and up to a couple of dozen paralysed spiders, often crab spiders and orb weavers, on which the larva feeds.
Q 10Which insect blasts attackers with a boiling-hot chemical spray from its rear, with an audible pop?
Bombardier beetle
The bombardier beetle mixes hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide in a reaction chamber, heating the spray to near 100 °C; one beetle carries enough reactants for roughly 20 blasts.
Q 11Members of the subfamily Phymatinae, which seize prey on flowers, are commonly called what?
Ambush Bug
Phymatinae are the ambush bugs; despite being only about a centimetre long, they routinely seize prey ten or more times their own size, including bumblebees.
Q 12Which extinct insect had a wingspan of up to 75 cm, making it one of the largest flying insects known?
Meganeura
Meganeura monyi, an extinct genus of griffinflies from the Carboniferous period, is renowned for its immense wingspan, estimated to be up to 75 cm (about 2.5 feet), making it one of the largest flying insects ever to have existed.
Q 13Which insect is often cited as the world's heaviest, one gravid female weighing about 70 grams?
Giant Weta
Q 21The red food and lipstick colourant carmine (E120) is extracted from which insect?
Cochineal
Carmine comes from the cochineal, a scale insect farmed on prickly-pear cactus; carminic acid makes up 17–24% of the dried insect's weight, and Peru has long been the largest producer.
Q 22What is the primary method of communication for many social insects?
Chemical pheromones
Many social insects, including ants and bees, primarily communicate through chemical pheromones, which can convey information about danger, food sources, and mating.
Q 23What is the 'blood' of insects called, which circulates nutrients but not oxygen?
Hemolymph
Insects have an open circulatory system where hemolymph, their 'blood', circulates freely, transporting nutrients and waste but not oxygen, which is handled by the tracheal system.
A captive Little Barrier Island giant wētā (Deinacrida heteracantha) from New Zealand reached about 70 g, heavier than a sparrow; typical adult females average around 32 g.
Q 14What is it called when a harmless species evolves to resemble a harmful one?
Batesian mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry in which a palatable or harmless species evolves to imitate an unpalatable or harmful species to deter predators. A classic example is a hoverfly resembling a bee or wasp.
Q 15Which body segment of an adult insect typically bears the wings and legs?
Thorax
The thorax is the middle section of an insect's body, specialized for locomotion, bearing three pairs of legs and typically two pairs of wings.
Q 16What is the primary function of an insect's antennae?
Sensory perception
Insects use their antennae primarily for sensory perception, including touch, smell, and taste, helping them navigate and find food or mates.
Q 17Which type of insect metamorphosis runs through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult?
Complete metamorphosis
Complete metamorphosis, or holometaboly, takes an insect from egg to larva to pupa to adult, with big changes in appearance and lifestyle between stages.
Q 18Which of these insect orders is generally considered to have the largest number of described species?
Coleoptera (beetles)
Coleoptera, the order of beetles, is the largest order of insects, with more described species than any other order.
Q 19What are the external openings of an insect's breathing tubes called?
Spiracles
Insects respire through a system of tubes called tracheae, which connect to the outside environment through small, valve-like openings called spiracles located along their body segments.
Q 20What chemical compound do fireflies use to produce their light through a process called bioluminescence?
Luciferin
Fireflies produce light through a chemical reaction involving luciferin, an organic compound, and the enzyme luciferase, in the presence of oxygen and ATP.
Q 24What type of mouthparts do mosquitoes and aphids have?
Piercing-sucking
Piercing-sucking mouthparts are specialized for penetrating plant or animal tissues and drawing out fluids, as seen in mosquitoes that feed on blood and aphids that feed on plant sap.
Q 25What is the primary role of a drone bee in a honey bee colony?
Mating with the queen
Drone bees are male honey bees whose sole purpose is to mate with a virgin queen, often from a different colony, to ensure genetic diversity.
Q 26What is the rigid chitin-based structure that supports and protects an insect's body called?
Exoskeleton
The exoskeleton is the rigid, external covering that provides support and protection for an insect's body, and is primarily composed of chitin.
Q 27What is the act of producing sound by rubbing body parts together called, as crickets and grasshoppers do?
Stridulation
Stridulation is sound made by rubbing body parts together, the standard communication of crickets and grasshoppers.
Q 28What do scientists call aphid nymphs being born already carrying the next generation's embryos?
Telescoping generations
Telescoping generations: an aphid nymph is born already carrying developing embryos of the next generation; reproduction is usually parthenogenetic and viviparous, so one female can found a colony without laying an egg.
Q 29Which insect's 'waggle dance' communicates the location of food sources?
Bee
Honey bees perform a complex 'waggle dance' to inform other worker bees about the direction and distance to profitable food sources.
Q 30Which disease is transmitted to humans by certain species of mosquitoes?
Malaria
Mosquitoes are vectors for several diseases, including malaria, which is caused by a parasite transmitted through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.