> Insects are often overlooked when creating settings for speculative fiction, but the stories I love tend to take them into account. Lately I keep coming across obscure information about different bugs, so I decided to put it all together for easier referencing. Here's what I've learned lately about bugs: ## Quick Facts - Bees immediately [plummet to the ground](https://twitter.com/HamishSymington/status/1466704319483416577) when the lights go out. - Many insects [replace the water in their bodies with glycerol](https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/fun-facts-bugs) to keep from freezing in winter. - Centipedes are fast-moving carnivores that hunt using "large, venomous fangs" that function like claws. - In the mid 19th century, the Japanese mixed [silkworm poop with leaves and dirt in order to make saltpeter](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/mub1gs/where_did_the_original_raw_materials_for/). The process was super involved and took like 6 years. - Bogong moths, which were ground into flour by Indigenous Australians, [taste nutty and have a sweet aftertaste](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/moths-used-food-australia-2000-years-ago-180977048/). ## Harmless Parasites There's a parasitic worm known as _Loa loa_ that is mostly harmless... so your immune system pretty much ignores it. This is fine unless you take deworming medicine (i.e. ivermectin). Then, the _Loa loa_ all die, at which point your immune system freaks out and fries your brain in a vain attempt to get rid of the worm corpses. Scott Alexander describes it as [one of the most esoteric ways to die](https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/pascalian-medicine). %% [[loa loa are harmless until you take medicine]] %% ## Many Legged Millipedes gain segments and legs throughout their life — [the newest discovered can go up to 1,300](https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dbgx/scientists-have-identified-the-first-true-millipede). They mostly live underground and eat dead leaves. They were the first oxygen-breathing animals, and the first to use chemical defenses like cyanide to protect themselves from predators. At least one extinct species was taller than I am, at 6 feet long and 1 foot wide. %% [[Scientists Have Identified the First 'True' Millipede by Shayla Love]] %% ## Foul Fliers Locusts are unique as pests because they swarm _and_ fly, so they can travel across vast distances. Huge locusts plagues can last for literally years. Pesticides can actually make the situation worse, because they make it unsafe to eat the locusts. [Here's more about why they swarm](https://livescience.com/locusts.html). %%[[locusts are a unique pest because they swarm and fly]] & other locust stuff from [[What Are Locusts and Why Do They Swarm by Greg Uyeno]]. %% ## Spider Smarts Since spiders have pinhead-sized brains, people mostly assume they have can't do complex reasoning. [Spiders of the _Portia_ genus (which are about a centimeter) show signs of intelligence comparable to dogs or toddlers](https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2021/are-spiders-intelligent). They intelligently plan routes, can be surprised, and are surprisingly good with numbers. %% [[20 Information/26 Annotated/Spiders Are Much Smarter Than You Think by Betsy Mason]] %% - - - 📗 ICYMI: If you found this interesting, you may also enjoy my previous newsletter about [toxic beetles, weird pets, and unusual foods](https://newsletter.eleanorkonik.com/beetles/) %% ( [[2020-08-17 Beetles]] ) %% ](https://newsletter.eleanorkonik.com/beetles/). %% [[2020-08-17 Beetles]] %% I also highly recommend [Children of Time](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/adrian-tchaikovsky/children-of-time/9781447273301) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which features evolving generations of _Portia_ spiders as recurring protagonists. 💚 If you learned something from this overview, consider forwarding it to a friend and encouraging them to [sign up](https://newsletter.eleanorkonik.com/membership/) for more research deep dives into obscure history and science. 📅 Next week's topic? SOMETHING If you know any SOMETHING, please hit "reply" and tell me about it.