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Imagine waking up to a fly the size of a gnat hitting your window and the house shaking as a giant spider crawls across the lawn. This all seems like a nightmare, but this is exactly what the world looked like 250 million years ago, before the first dinosaurs appeared. However, if you don't suffer from arachnophobia and like extreme sports, you will soon have the opportunity to travel to the era of giant beetles.
Indeed, in 2023, scientists from the field of meteorology compiled a report in which they promise: "Time safaris will become available to people in less than 50 years. With the help of sensors and virtual reality glasses, tourists will be able to travel to any period of the past or future. But already now there is a prerequisite for the fact that we can find ourselves in the world of huge insects much earlier and not at all in virtual reality. Can insects really become gigantic again? In the Carboniferous period, about 300 million years ago, insects were larger than at any time in the history of our planet. During this period, the air was hot and humid, and the earth was covered with swampy tropical
30-meter forests. A large number of trees and plants released so much oxygen into the air that its content in the atmosphere increased to 30%. Scientists suggest that this is what allowed insects and other arthropods to grow very large. The thing is that these creatures do not have lungs, like humans and other terrestrial vertebrates. Instead, they use a system of special tubes located throughout their bodies to breathe. Trachea. As insects increase in size, they need more oxygen. But the problem is that their tracheae do not grow. They remain the same size throughout their life cycle. It turns out that the higher the oxygen content in
the atmosphere, the more it can be absorbed through the tracheae, and therefore the insects can become larger. Today, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is almost 21%. And as long as this indicator does not increase, we can not worry about the return of giant beetles. Of course, if there are no other reasons that could provoke their growth. But how much did the size of prehistoric insects differ from modern ones? This is Magneuramoni. It was the largest flying predatory insect of the Carboniferous period. This dragonfly-like creature had a wingspan of up to 75 cm and lived in the territory of modern Europe.
What modern dragonflies! Maganeura moni had excellent eyesight, which allowed it to track prey from afar. Due to the fact that it was the size of a large shepherd dog, the dragonfly fed not only on other insects, but even amphibians. Its paws were covered with spikes, which allowed it to grab its prey right on the fly. Near the mouth of Menevremoni was a pair of powerful tentacles with large sharp teeth, with which it always bit off the head of its prey. It is scary to even imagine what would happen if a person fell into the paws of this monster In order not to become dinner for such a dragonfly and other predators, insects had to become larger and larger.
Take, for example, Mazotairos Enormis. This giant flying insect lived 309 million years ago in what is now North America. Mazotairos had a wingspan of 56 cm and a body length of over a meter. Fragments its remains were found in the fossil beds of the Mazancreek, located in Illinois. Researchers believe that this insect was a herbivore and fed on plant juices. Its genus resembled a sharp beak with which Mazotairos pierced stems and sucked out the nutritious juice from them.
Such a giant insect scared away predators simply by its size. Even for Maganevremoni, this species was no match for it. It is possible that the arthropods of the Carboniferous period turned into giants in order not to become food for the numerous amphibians and reptiles that inhabited the land. This endless cycle of competition and survival forced the creatures to become larger and larger. But who was the biggest? This is the giant centipede Arthropleuras. It is considered one of the largest invertebrates that have ever lived on Earth. A fossilized fragment of this creature was found in the UK.
Researchers estimated its length at about 2 meters, which is the size of a small car. Initially, scientists believed that this centipede was a predator, and its powerful jaws were intended for cutting up prey. But new studies have refuted this theory, because in the fossils of the insect's intestines, exclusively plant material was found It turns out that Arthropleura led a completely vegetarian lifestyle. And although it is herbivorous, you definitely would not be happy to see such a thing on your bathroom wall. But 250 million years ago, a predator lived on Earth, which even a giant centipede was afraid of It is a scorpion.
Modern representatives of this species also do not evoke warm feelings in us. Now imagine a Scorpion as long as 3 meters. This is one of the largest predators that lived in the ocean during the Carboniferous period. Yes, yes, you did not think so. It was in the ocean that the Jackalopterus rhenania- A giant underwater scorpion that occupied the highest level of the marine food chain. In the modern world, it can be compared to the five-meter great white shark, the largest underwater predator on our planet. The fossilized remains of the historical Scorpion were discovered in Australia and at first
scientists mistook it for a spider and even gave it the name Megarachna. They simply did not believe that this huge creature could once have been a scorpion. Since then, paleontologists have found several more fossilized fragments of Jackalopterus and concluded that the first specimen found included only half of the body without a tail. That is why the creature was mistaken for a spider. Today, Professor Bowang from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences claims: "The giant scorpion is the largest of all arthropods in history." These monsters were ruthless.
They grabbed prey with their forelimbs, armed with claws and tore with the help of sharp spikes on their paws. But that's not all. Having studied the fossils found in more detail, scientists were shocked by the new find. In addition to the gills, with which these creatures breathed underwater, giant scorpions had organs similar to lungs. This means that Jackalopterus could breathe air and hunt not only underwater. Another researcher of sea monsters, Andrew Draff from the University of Otter Bay, said: "Scorpions were one of the first creatures that came out of the water onto land at all." But why did these insects reach such gigantic sizes? It's
simple. They literally had no competition among other species. And this means that 250 million years ago there was no predator that could seriously harm them. And in the modern world, the giant scorpion also had no natural enemies. We are lucky that these monsters did not survive to this day. Is it still did they survive? In fact, giant arthropods can still be found today. However, under water. This is the Japanese crab. The largest modern arthropod. It has 10 legs, the length of which can reach 2 m. The mass of such a spider crab is 20 kg, and its lifespan exceeds 100 years. It lives in cracks and crevices at a depth of 300-400 m and can tolerate a fairly low temperature, only 10° C.
It was not for nothing that it was called a spider crab, because it has a common ancestor with the pre-crabs, which lived on earth 450 million years ago. According to research, during evolution, spiders had to adapt to climate change and decrease in size, unlike the spider crab. After all, it was possible to maintain such gigantic dimensions only in water. On land, the organs of the creatures were simply crushed by the mass of their bodies. In addition, it is much more difficult for large creatures to move in water easier. For example, the modern representative of the huge arthropods, the American Lobster, seems very slow and
clumsy when you take it out of the water. But it is quite fast and agile while it is on the seabed. The largest representatives of this species that were caught were about 1 meter long and weighed more than 22 kg. That is why these lobsters are considered the heaviest arthropods in the world. If the crab, spider and American Lobster live on the seabed and practically do not come into contact with humans, then their relative, the coconut crab, has come much closer to us. Just like its prehistoric ancestor, the giant scorpion. It has two sets of respiratory organs: gills for breathing underwater, and lungs for staying on land.
It can reach up to 1 meter in length and weigh 4 kg. This crab feeds only on tropical fruits and carrion, but its claws are strong and developed enough to easily bite off a human finger phalanx. So don't bother this clawed guy unnecessarily. But the coconut crab may not be the only giant arthropod on land. Very soon, the insects we are familiar with may become huge again. Scientists say that this will happen in the coming decades, and birds are to blame. According to National Geographic, more than 100 species of birds are currently under threat of extinction, and they may completely disappear from the face of the
earth in the next 100 years. For us, this will be a real disaster, because due to the lack of predators, insects will multiply and grow uncontrollably. Around the world, birds destroy up to 500 million tons of beetles per year. According to experts, just one swallow eats up to 2,000 cicadas per day. And the Baltimore oriole can swallow almost 17 geese in just 60 seconds. If birds will become extinct, our cities will be destroyed by termite invasions or clouds of sirens will begin to destroy entire forests. What about impenetrable jungles from the wind? But does this mean that giant insects will take over the entire planet? What will our world look like in this case?
Nocturnal lifestyle. Concrete floors and windows protected by thick curtains. All this could become a reality if huge beetles occupy the planet. And even the most modern, at first glance, insects can pose a danger to humans. For example, an ant. It would seem, what is such a tiny creature capable of? This female ant Dinoponera can grow to only 4 cm in length. And according to World Atlas, these are some of the largest ants in the world. However, if they increase in size, then Dinoponera have every chance of catching up with their prehistoric ancestors who lived 50 million years ago. Giant ants Titanoumurma gigantea. Judging by the fossils found by scientists, the
queens of this species reached almost 7 cm in length, and their wingspan was about 15 cm. Like all ants, this species lived in colonies. They attacked the victim, collectively spitting formic acid. Teamwork itself allowed the insects to neutralize animals much larger than themselves. If these monsters rush to settle in cities, we would have to get acid-resistant transport and protective clothing. In addition, it will be necessary to significantly strengthen the houses, since the ant tunnels underground can provoke the collapse of buildings. But ants are not the greatest danger to humans in the world of giant
insects, because they have many more terrifying accomplices. Do you hear? This is a loud hissing. It sounds like the sound of helicopter flaps. Run for cover immediately, especially if you are allergic. After all, wasps are dangerous even for a healthy person. And Imagine a whole swarm, where each individual is 8 cm long. These are the ones that lived on Earth 53 million years ago. Just a couple of bites from such a giant wasp can be incompatible with life. To protect ourselves from these creatures, we will have to form entire special-purpose detachments. They
will go hunting at night, when the wasps are less active, and will destroy their nests before the larvae develop into adults. Let's say we have dealt with giant wasps, but what about insects whose presence we do not notice immediately, but at the moment of the bite. We are talking about fleas. If they were the size of their pre- historic ancestor, Pseudopulex, we would not go outside without huge cans of repellent. After all, even dinosaurs were afraid of this parasite. Pseudopulex was about ten times larger than the average modern flea. With the help of their long tentacles, they climbed over the body of a sleeping dinosaur and were placed between protective scales or plates. And then the
main weapon, the mouth, which looked like a hypodermic needle, came into play. There is a theory that this type of bloodsucker disappeared with the dinosaurs, because there were simply no other creatures as large as them that they could feed on. Today, in the event of an invasion of giant beligs, large land mammals are under threat: elephants, rhinoceroses, hippos and even bears. It turns out that ordinary ants, fleas and wasps can pose a danger to us if they increase in size. But it seems that we have forgotten about the real kings of human nightmares, spiders.
This is the Goliath tarantula. The largest spider in the modern world. It weighs about 170 g, and its paw span is 30 cm. But that's not all. And the Goliath tarantula is sharper and longer than the cheetah's claws. Biting its prey, it injects poison that turns all its insides into liquid. Just imagine if such monsters were enlarged to the size of a St. Bernard. In prehistoric times, the earth was really inhabited by spiders whose length exceeded 1 meter. Moreover, there is evidence of encounters with giant spiders already in our era. We are talking about the legendary large spider from the Congo.
It is believed that it was first noticed in Uganda in 1890. British missionary Arthur Symes claimed that his expedition fell into huge nets and webs in the middle of the rainforest. According to him, they were attacked by several spiders whose size exceeded one meter. And among the indigenous peoples of the Congo there are legends that these huge arachnids weave webs the size of a hut. Allegedly In this way, they hunt antelopes, birds and other jungle inhabitants. The last reports of these spiders date back to the end of the 10th century. But perhaps there are no more recent data precisely because after meeting these monsters there were
no people left who could tell anything. Imagine what would happen if insects all over the planet increased in size. Humanity would be in a state of constant war, fighting for its survival. At the same time, our weapons would be powerless, because the exoskeleton of insects consists of wax, protein threads and chitin, which make it very, very strong. For example, a small beetle Nosoderm diabolicum. Thanks to its shell, it is able to withstand a load of 39,000 times its own weight. It is as if 280 double-decker buses were placed on a person So do we have a chance to defeat giant insects? In 2018, an international group of scientists presented
a prototype of a new generation of super-strong body armor On Its development was inspired by the structure of chitin. The researchers printed scales on a 3D printer and placed them on a flexible base. They claim that such a product is much more effective than modern bulletproof vests with metal plates inside. It turns out that to protect ourselves from insects, we will have to become like them, wearing impenetrable shells. But if the issue of protection is practically solved, what about weapons? Nowadays, the most common way to destroy insects is repellents. It is logical to assume that against huge beetles we will have to develop powerful chemical weapons based on them. But how safe will it be for people?
The prospect of spending our entire lives in a protective suit does not seem very attractive. Let's hope that giant centipedes and meter-long spiders are forever a thing of the past and we will only see them in fantasy films or nightmares. But, as practice shows, our nature is quite unpredictable. And what do you think? Under what circumstances could giant insects return to our world? Share your thoughts in the comments. H
