Fastest bugs
Every species in the Wild Files corpus where fastest is a defining trait.
32 on file
Brazilian Wandering Spider
World's most venomous spider. Doesn't build webs — wanders. Found in shoes, banana shipments.
Globe Skimmer Dragonfly
Longest insect migration on Earth (18,000 km). 95% kill rate. 360-degree vision.
Giant Huntsman Spider
Largest spider in the world by leg span — 30 cm. Runs sideways. Doesn't bother you.
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
Looks like a hummingbird. Flies like a hummingbird. Is, in fact, a moth.
Peacock Mantis Shrimp
Sees 12 colors. Punches at 50 mph. The flash is hotter than the sun's surface.
Yellow Fever Mosquito
Deadliest animal in human history. Has killed more people than every war combined.
European Praying Mantis
Rotates her head 180°. Sees you in 3D. Sometimes decapitates her partner.
Australian Tiger Beetle
Fastest insect on Earth. Runs so fast her eyes can't keep up.
Trap-Jaw Ant
Fastest jaws on Earth — 145 mph. Uses the same jaws to bounce itself out of trouble.
Eyed Click Beetle
Flips herself off her back with an audible click. 380 g of acceleration. 30 cm of jump.
Common Fruit Fly
The most-studied animal in scientific history. Six Nobel Prizes ride on her shoulders.
Common Mayfly
Adult life: 24 hours. Sometimes 5 minutes. The order's name means 'short-lived wing.'
American Cockroach
Runs 530 km/h scaled to human size. Survives a week without its head. NASA studies it.
Ogre-Faced Spider
Casts a silken net at prey like a fisherman. Sees in starlight. Hears with her legs.
Carolina Wolf Spider
Mom carries hundreds of babies on her back. Eyes glow back at flashlights from a hundred meters away.
Festive Tiger Beetle
Color-variable tiger beetle. Different geographic populations display GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE, RED, or COPPER elytra.
Grass Spider
Funnel-web spider with horizontal sheet web. Among the FASTEST running spiders in NA — 60 cm/sec sprint.
Hanging Thief Robber Fly
Aerial predator that HANGS from a single front leg while consuming prey. Catches bees, wasps, dragonflies in mid-air.
Silver-Spotted Skipper
Most widespread NA skipper. Bright SILVER spot on hindwing underside flashes in flight.
Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle
Iridescent METALLIC EMERALD GREEN beetle. Sprints so fast it temporarily goes blind.
Australian Tiger Beetle
Fastest insect on Earth at ground speed. Runs SO FAST her vision blurs and she goes temporarily BLIND.
Whirligig Beetle
Eyes split half-above and half-below water. Echolocates using surface ripples. Swims at 1 m/s.
Eastern Eyed Elater
Two giant fake eye-spots on her back. 380g click-launch. Largest click beetle in eastern US.
Emperor Dragonfly
Largest dragonfly in Europe. 95% hunting success. Eats prey in flight. Brilliant sky-blue abdomen.
Cat Flea
Most common flea worldwide. Jumps 100× her body length at 100g. Dominant flea on cats, dogs, humans.
House Centipede
The bathroom centipede everyone has screamed at. Eats cockroaches and bed bugs. Not actually an insect.
Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter
Vector of Pierce's disease — wiped out California vineyards. Has gear teeth in her legs to jump.
Robber Fly
Aerial ambush predator. Takes bees, wasps, even hummingbirds. Paralyzes prey midair.
Meadow Spittlebug
Lives in a froth-bubble of her own waste. Adults jump at 400g — highest acceleration of any animal. Olive disease vector.
Camel Spider
Third major arachnid order. Largest jaws-to-body ratio in arachnids. The fastest arachnid runner.
Spitting Spider
Spits sticky-and-venomous silk-glue at prey from 1 cm away. Fires in 1.4 milliseconds.
Springtail
100,000 per square meter of soil. Catapults itself with a spring-loaded tail. Survives -60°C.