This is the laziest and most mischievous insect on the planet, it doesn't work but still wants to eat.

They are known as the "craziest" products of creation.

When we think of insects, most of us imagine small, hard-working creatures with extremely disciplined lifestyles. Bees wake up early in the morning to collect honey, ants line up in long lines to collect food, to fill their nests before winter…

Even spiders - often considered the laziest in the insect world - when they want to lie around all day waiting for their meals to come, they have to stay up all night to spin their webs.

These Austrospirachtha carrijoi beetles were discovered as a completely new species. They look a lot like termites, but be careful, they might fool you again. (Photo: Science).

However, in a new study published in the journal Zootaxa, Australian scientists have just discovered a completely new species of insect, a creature that is even lazier than spiders.

These Austrospirachtha carrijoi beetles do nothing but still want to eat. To do that, they have turned themselves into a scoundrel with extremely sophisticated deceptive tactics.

The target of these bugs, unfortunately, is blind termites .

The craziest disguise of creation

Science magazine had to use the word "crazy " to describe the way the A. carrijoi beetles fooled them, and of course, the termites.

These rogue creatures were discovered by chance during a field trip by a team of biologists from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. They traveled more than halfway around the world to northern Australia, known for having the most diverse insect population on the planet.

The team originally came here to study termite mounds, giant mounds of earth filled with thousands of tiny, milky-white creatures – but which have become a bit of a pastime for the Australian natives.

Inside these giant termite mounds in Australia is hidden one of nature's craziest creatures. They look exactly like termites but are not termites. (Photo: ZMEscience).

While digging into the structure of termite castles, scientists occasionally find a very strange-looking termite . From above, it looks exactly like a termite with a fat belly, a narrow waist, and two antennae protruding from the front of its head.

But be careful not to be fooled. When scientists looked at the cross-section, they found that underneath the termite, there was another body, a head, and two antennae. It turned out that this was the real thing.

The entire termite figure they saw above was fake. It was a puppet, a giant model built to resemble the Fujian procession in China.

When scientists looked at the cross-section, they discovered that underneath this termite there was another body, a head, and two antennae. It turned out that this was the real animal. The entire termite shape they saw above was fake. (Photo: Science).

Brazilian researchers captured the strange creature for study shortly after seeing it. DNA analysis showed that the animal belonged to the Staphylinidae beetle family, not termites . It is closely related to the Austrospirachtha mimetes species previously found in Brazil.

With these characteristics, scientists named it Austrospirachtha carrijoi, with " carrijoi " being the name of Dr. John Carrijo, a Brazilian entomologist who went directly to Australia to collect specimens.

Further research revealed that A. carrijoi beetles only have a real lower body. Their entire termite-like upper body is actually a bladder that expands from their abdomen, a phenomenon known in the insect world as " physogastry . "

Accordingly, queen bees or queen ants often have physogastry extensions from their abdomens to hold eggs. Soldiers and workers also often possess this enlarged abdomen to hold extra food.

Only beetles have regularly evolved to turn their swollen abdomens into a deceptive tool .

Physogastry is an enlarged abdomen of insects. Termites and ants often use it to store eggs or food. Only beetles have developed these false abdomens to deceive. (Photo: Science).

To eat without working

In a previous study published in the journal Current Biology, scientists constructed a family tree that included 180 beetle species from around the world.

They found that at many independent locations, geographically distant from each other, different beetle species used the same evolutionary formula. Over about 100 million years, with 12 to 15 evolutionary cycles, the beetles had transformed their physogastry into a pseudo-puppet, similar to that of native ants.

This process is called "convergent evolution," in which different organisms will evolve in a similar way if they live in environments with similar natural selection pressures.

" One of the major survival challenges for beetles living in tropical rainforests is that they have to live alongside huge colonies of army ants, which are notorious for their aggressiveness and frequent marauding," said Joseph Parker, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University.

"Many beetles have thus accidentally discovered an incredible strategy: they can dive straight into the most dangerous place, blend in with the ants to get into their nests and then eat them."

Looking at this picture, can you tell which is an ant and which is a beetle pretending to be an ant? Answer: On the right is a beetle with a fake ant body growing from its abdomen. On the left is an army ant that can't recognize the impostor. (Photo: Science).

So these beetles grow an ant body on their backs. They also secrete chemicals called pheromones that army ants normally secrete. Once inside the ant nest, the beetles eat the ant eggs to survive.

As for the newly discovered A. carrijoi beetle, scientists say it has chosen a more docile and pitiful victim than the army ant: the blind termite.

Termites have no visual organs and are often described as " blind ". However, they have developed very sensitive sensory organs on their legs, so that they can touch other termites and detect them.

Perhaps that is why A. carrijoi had to develop its fake abdomen so delicately. Compared to the beetles that impersonate army ants, the A. carrijoi that impersonate termites are a much more perfect copy.

Other beetles often develop false abdomens to blend in with other insects. But no other species has developed realistic pseudo-abdomens and antennae like A. carrijoi. (Photo: Sicencetime).

It has three pseudo-abdominal segments , simulating the three chambers of a termite including the abdomen, body and head. No other beetle species has developed pseudo-abdominal segments with antennae like A. carrijoi.

Of course, these A. carrijoi also secrete the same cuticular hydrocarbon chemicals as termites to fool them. The goal, scientists say, is to get the termites to feed them.

Termites often feed each other in a form called " trophallaxis ." During kisses, they pass food orally from one individual to another. So if a termite mistakes an A. carrijoi for one of its own species, it can feed the A. carrijoi without suspecting anything.

Using its cunning disguise tactics, an A. carrijoi can sit comfortably in a termite nest for its entire life, receiving free meals from the termites.

Termites often feed each other through these "kisses." They pass food orally to each other and to the queen. The A. carrijoi beetles take advantage of this to survive in the termite nest by impersonating them.

What happens if they are discovered?

That's the question scientists have asked of both A. carrijoi and its army ant-impersonating cousins. As for A. carrijoi, because their mouthparts are so small, the study authors think they're just begging for food from termites, not likely to eat termite eggs or larvae.

Termites are also more docile than army ants. They eat wood, fungi, or bacteria, not other animals. They also do not have any attack techniques, but rather rely on defense and escape.

Therefore, if A. carrijoi are discovered in a termite nest, their lives are probably not in danger . However, the beetles that dare to disguise themselves as army ants are different.

A beetle (below) was caught impersonating an army ant (above) in its nest. (Photo: Eurekalert).

These bugs have been known to eat ant eggs and larvae, right in the ant nest. Army ants are notoriously aggressive. They can secrete a venom containing formic acid that can kill bees, grasshoppers, or other ants.

A swarm of army ants attacking at once can kill a mouse, frog, or large insect.

In their study, the scientists said that a beetle living in an army ant nest is surrounded by an average of 5,000 ants. So if the beetle is discovered eating ant larvae or eggs, the ants will probably kill it immediately .

That might be a worthy end for a lazy person who doesn't work but still wants to eat.