Did you know...?

As their name suggests, stick insects (Ctenomorpha marginipennis) have an uncanny ability to disguise themselves among tree branches by impersonating a stick. But that’s not their only superpower. The females can also regenerate by cloning themselves. Talk about girl power!

Beetles are the most dominant species in the world. One in every four named animals is a beetle! Fingers crossed they’re not planning to turn into evil villains and plotting world domination.

One in every three mouthfuls of food that we eat is a direct result of pollination by bees. If we didn’t have bees we’d have no fruits or vegetables to eat! There’s some super pollinating powers right there!

The entire human population weighs about 400 million tonnes, while spiders eat an enormous 800 million tonnes of insects a year. Without spiders we’d be totally overrun by insects. Remember that next time you throw a shoe at one!

The Common Imperial Blue Butterfly (Jalmenus evagoras) is also a master of disguise. It uses a very clever mimicry technique to trick predators into thinking that the tips of its wings are its head! This means that they can protect their body and live to see another day.

The Damselfly (Zygoptera) is one of the best flyers in the world! They can fly forwards and backwards, up and down, and spin 360 degrees in a split second. This incredible agility is because damselflies secret talent is moving their front and back wings out of synchrony.

The Bull Ant (Myrmecia nigriscapa) has astonishing strength which allows it to carry 50 times its own bodyweight! Villains also want to avoid them because they have a very harsh bite.

To protect themselves against the evil villains of the bug world – birds and lizards – the Stink Bug (Commius elegans) releases a noxious odour. Their flamboyant patterns serve to remind these villains that stink bugs aren’t very tasty and should be left alone.

The Emperor Gum Moth (Opodiphthera eucalypti) is a bit of a trickster. It likes to pretend that the two big spots on its wings are actually the eyes of a much larger creature, startling villainous predators away.

The Purple-winged Mantis (Tenodera australasiae) is a stealth predator. With incredible patience it lies in wait, shooting out its legs faster than the blink of an eye to capture its prey. One of its other powers is revolving its head 360 degrees. This allows it to keep an eye out for prey without moving its body.

The Assassin Bug (Ptilocnemus lemur) is one of the ultimate murderers. Its weapons are hollow needle-like mouth parts that it uses to jab other insects and suck out their juices. Yum, yum.

The Double Drummer Cicada (Cyclochila australasiae) is the loudest insect in the entire world! Its call can reach 100 decibels, that’s as loud as a motorcycle!

The Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) is an expert silk spinner. The silk that it uses to make its web is five times stronger than steel and ten times more flexible that nylon!