Assassin insects in nature

Among the most bizarre creatures in the world, the killer bugs cannot be missed, ie fierce insects clean up prey bodies and carry them on their backs.

In the history of mankind, from Mayans to Celtic and Chinese, humans tend to behead their enemies and use their heads to various purposes. There are some who believe that this action can increase morale for their side, while others use it to provoke an enemy, or more simply to do a trophy. Surprisingly, that gruesome practice also appeared in the animal world. There are specialized insects that pierce the prey, dry the victim's body and then carry the body on his back everywhere. Not only stop at 1 or 2 prey, these beetles are often found piggybacked by a huge mass of withered bodies. In addition to creating unnecessary feeling of heaviness and bloodthirst, it seems that this is also an effective disguise, as well as shields when needed.

A killer bug wearing a lot of ants - (Photo: AFP)

According to Wired, there are about 7,000 killer insects in the world, each with a particularly hard mouth. With this tool, killer beetles will pierce the opponent's exoskeleton, such as ants, termites, bees ., according to Christiane Weirauch, a biologist at the University of California at Riverside. Next, they pump a poison that paralyzes the victim for a fraction of a second and begins the process of liquefaction from inside before draining the fluid. According to Weirauch, the whole process is similar to the case of a fictional movie beetle Starship Troopers sucking the brains of human warriors. At the end, some species continue to secrete a type of fluid to attach their bodies to their backs and carry them around, using the camouflage cover to attack new prey.

Meanwhile, there are also species watching the termites, gathering the corpses to adorn their disguise. Ants, termites have a habit of moving their dying teammates or have died from the nest, to avoid outbreaks of disease if any.'And it seems the killer is very happy to take advantage of the opportunity to clean up this kind of body, then plug the corpse on the body to lure other termites,' said Weirauch expert. In one observation, the female scientist witnessed a bug that caught a total of 48 termites by this trick.

Usually killer insects are not really a threat to humans, except for a special species nicknamed the kissing bug . They are called so because they always bite the area around their mouths when they are sleeping. The bite does not hurt, but if the bug repels the waste in the process, the protozoan in the stool falls on the wound, leading to chronic cardiovascular problems that sometimes develop in the next few decades. In particular, Chagas disease is a serious challenge to human health in South America. The father of evolutionary theory Charles Darwin also suffers from blood sucking bugs in South America. Not only that, there are rumors that his illness may have been caused by monsters.

Whether hunting or robbing corpses, it must be recognized that these difficult-to-play assassins perfectly adapt their work.