Skip to main content
Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis)
Fastest
82Six Legs
Bug Bite · From the file on Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

The gear teeth ensure both hind legs fire within microseconds of each other — producing acceleration above 200g during launch.

JournalBurrows & Sutton (2013)2013Verified by sources
Read the full file on Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

More Fastest bites

Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer)
Fastest
Six Legs87

Brazilian wandering spiders don't build webs — they walk the forest floor at night hunting prey.

Giant Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda maxima)
Fastest
Six Legs74

Huntsman spiders don't build webs — they hunt on foot, with a distinctive fast sideways gait that gave the family its name.

Giant Huntsman SpiderVerified by sources
Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
Fastest
Six Legs74

Wings beat 70-80 times per second — fast enough to be invisible to the naked eye.

Hummingbird HawkmothVerified by sources
Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus)
Fastest
Six Legs87

A mantis shrimp punch hits at 50 mph with the force of a .22 caliber bullet — fast enough to crack aquarium glass.

Peacock Mantis ShrimpVerified by sources
Yellow Fever Mosquito (Aedes aegypti)
Fastest
Six Legs81

A mosquito's wings beat 300–600 times per second — the high-pitched whine you hear is the wingbeat frequency.

Yellow Fever MosquitoVerified by sources
European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa)
Fastest
Six Legs78

A mantis strike completes in under 60 milliseconds — three times faster than a human can blink.

European Praying MantisVerified by sources