Least and Most (re)Productive
The race was tight among insects vying for the Fewest Kids in a Lifetime prize.
The contenders included tsetse flies, with six to 12 larvae; solitary bees, with two to six; and poop- and carrion-dwelling scarabaeid beetles, with about six. To increase survival, beetle parents shield each egg in a dung ball covered in clay.
But top honors went to louse flies, which have about five larvae. Each develops inside the uterus until it's almost ready to pupate, the stage where insects go through metamorphosis. Females produce only one egg at a time because their investment in each baby tsetse is so great.
Live birth in these flies "is thus analogous to giving birth to teenagers," wrote Bianca Cecilie Nygård in The Book of Insect Records.
Genghis Khan Trophies for highest fecundity were awarded in two categories: social and non-social insects.
African driver ants win among social critters, those that form social networks like ants and bees. Their queen lays three to four million eggs every 25 days. How can she care for so many kids? She doesn't. That responsibility falls to her minion ants. Her main responsibility is pumping out eggs, a task she does quite well.
In the non-social bug category, the Australian ghost moths capture top prize. One female from Adelaide, Australia laid more than 29,000 eggs. These moths are fly-by egg layers. Mid flight, they drop their eggs near gumtrees and hope for the best. Because they don't take care of their young, there's a very high death rate among baby moths.
Images: Top: African driver ant, April Nobile / Antweb.org / Wikimedia Commons. Right: Australian ghost moth, Dhobern / Wikimedia Commons.