BUGMAN Bug Trivia Quiz Answer
Which type of insect (not
spider or other Arthropod) is believed to live the longest and
how long do you think it lives?
Wow, nobody got the answer we had for this, but there were lots of good tries. Here's a sample of your answers:
M.W. (Age 4) from Camp Hill, PA, said: A cockroach lives for 10 years.
J.B.B. (age 14) from Millville, NJ, said locusts, but he didn't know why.
Andrea (age 12) from Albert Lea, MN, said probably beetles, they live up to 2 years. {So did Evan (age 8), but he thought they might live 5 years}
J.B. (age 12) from Athol, ID, said: Termites {He probably meant the queen!}
B.F. (age pretty old) from New York, NY, sent us a link to a web page and this quote from it: "Under exceptional conditions, some individuals of wood-boring beetles (Cerambycidae and Buprestidae) have the longest life cycle. One Buprestis aurulenta larva emerged after 51 years. Three species of 17-year periodical cicadas, Magicicada septendecim, M. cassini, and M. septendecula, are well-known to have the longest synchronized development times in natural conditions."
D.L. (age 18) from Pleasant Hill, CA, said: Answer 1 "I believe that the insect you're looking for is the Malaysian stick bug. The name may not be right but i know it's a stick bug. I have no idea how long it will live because I've never studied this type of bug before. Maybe it's because they have a shory life span. I also forgot how long it was when it was recorded but i think it was around something like 15 inches plus. Answer 2 Okay, this is my second time answering this question. This answer may be more accurate than my first one. The longest insect is the West Malaysian Pharnacia serratipes at a length of 555 mm. That is like around 22 inches. Hope this answer qualifies." {those are both great answers, D.L.! But, we were asking which bugs live the longest! Now let's see your answer for the new question.}
We, of course, went to the experts for our answer. And we found the answer depended on the source. Our best insect text book, An Introduction to the Study of Insects (Borror, DeLong, Triplehorn, 1981, Saunders College Publishing), said that some of the Periodical Cicadas, Magicicada spp., have the longest life cycle which can last up to 17 years. That’s what BUGMAN was going to say, too until we started doing some research.
A video called Bug City’s Incredible Insects! (Schlessinger Media, 1998), with Christina Ricci and Dr. Arthur Evans the Insect Zoo Director at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, said that a queen termite can live up to 15 years and lay 1000’s of eggs per day! That’s a lot of eggs!!
But of course, the Guinness Book of Records 1990 gets the prize for reporting the longest-lived insect:
The longest-lived insects are the Splendour Beetles (Buprestidae). On 27 May 1982 a Buprestis aurulenta appeared from the staircase timber in the home of Mr W. Euston of Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex after 47 years as a larva. (pg 41)
Now how do you suppose they knew that? Oh well, it sounds pretty official, so we can probably believe it. The University of Florida has an interesting page about long life in insects that talks a lot about diapause. The page is a little scientific (you might want a dictionary - it’s always a good time to learn new words!). Basically, diapause means stopping the development of an insect. For example, when a moth builds a cocoon for its pupa to overwinter in, it only takes it a month or so to actually develop into a moth. The rest of the winter it just waits. And doesn’t grow or change. It isn’t until spring days get longer and warmer that the moth emerges and the life cycle is continued.