It IS a Bug's Life Trivia Quiz

Answer: ant lion

The ant lion's body features two massive pincers used to grab any insect that falls into the pit. Ant lions are known to even sling sand at any insect that has escaped, in an effort to make the insect slide back down for a second shot.

Ant lion pits feature loose soil (either very fine or sandy) held together with mucus excretions.

Answer: blowfly

The blowfly's life cycle is so predictable, forensics experts often study the insect life cycle stage within a cadaver to help approximate date and/or time of death. The blowfly has an incredible sense of smell and they are usually the "first responders" to anything dead, out in the open.

Answer: honey bees

Honey bees are incredibly efficient, producing two extremely useful products for human consumption, honey and wax. A single bee produces about a teaspoon of honey in its lifespan. Wax is a byproduct of the bee's consumption of the honey it creates. In a very efficient process, bees excrete the wax from the consumed honey and then use the wax as building material to fortify and seal the hive.

Answer: ladybug

Ladybugs (also called ladybirds) are extremely useful insects in a garden. However, their habitual invasion of people's homes to huddle by the hundreds in windows during the winter months leaves a bad taste in some people's mouth.

Love them or hate them, they do a great service in keeping crop-destroying aphids under control.

Answer: locust

These days, many countries in Southeast Asia serve locust on the menu. They are seasoned and deep fried in batter, or boiled with spices and other sauces. High in protein and usually numerous (in a swarm), they have kept many from starvation in crisis situations.

Answer: leech

A leech is an annelid (soft-bodied creature grouped with earthworms). Once a leech has taken a bite, it produces anti-coagulating secretions that aid a surgical team in preventing clotting and promoting good circulation. Leeches have been used for centuries as a medical cure for many things from stomach ailments (which they did not help) to blood disorders (with which they can help).

Bed bugs, mosquitoes and fleas ARE insects that are also fellow blood-suckers. However, their bite isn't as useful because most carry parasites and/or viruses that make people ill (or dead).

Answer: maggot

The correct answer was maggot and while the thought may be gross, maggots are incredibly beneficial. Maggots (usually blowfly maggots) are used today in modern medicine as a last-ditch effort to save a limb or appendage from amputation due to infection or necrosis.

As mentioned, newly hatched maggots are poured onto a wound dressing and formed around the problem spot. The maggots go to work eating away the disease, infection and decay leaving the healthy skin untouched. This allows the wound to continue to heal, stimulating new skin growth. Once the maggot has grown in size and is ready for the next stage in the fly life cycle, it falls out of the wound and is removed by the medical professional. Each poultice is usually left on the wound for a few days.

Answer: praying mantis

Praying mantis are built for catching and eating anything that crosses their path. With agile front legs, armed with hook like appendages, and powerful jaws, the praying mantis snags and devours most everything head first (even when it is sometimes still alive).

Females lay eggs in a cocoon of sorts that resembles beige spray foam insulation. As a child, I would help collect these cocoons to store in the freezer to be used in the spring when the garden was planted. The cold keeps the eggs in a sort of hibernation. Once placed among the growing crops, the tiny praying mantis hatch and inhabit the garden, assisting with pest control as they grow into adults.

Answer: silk worm

Raised in China for over 4,000 years, the silk worm cocoons are harvested and processed into a vast array of silks. Each cocoon consists of about 1,500 feet of micro-fine silk. This silk has to be processed and combined to form much thicker threads that are eventually woven into cloth.

Answer: tiger beetle

Tiger beetles come in a vast array of colors, some are even fluorescent or metallic or patterned. It's hard to tell when you try and witness one in the wild, but tiger beetles are equipped with powerful jaws that both grasp and inject a type of digestive fluid (like a spiders) helping it to break down its meal.

Even the tiger beetle larvae are beneficial as they burrow in the soil and devour harmful pests in the lawn (like grubs and mole crickets).