Cannibalism. Predation. Promiscuity. Parasitism. Polygamy. Incest. Taboo in civil society but the norm in the wonderful world of insects. You might not know it but insect is the most successful creature on earth. Their number and kind surpass that of man. There are insects on land, air and water. They may even be in the beard and eyebrows of Darwin. And there are a lot more waiting to be discovered. The reasons can be partly surmised from the following:

They're being ubiquitous and our preoccupations to controlling them in relation to the damage they inflict on our conceited ego make us turn a blind-eye to the root of their survival. Tremendous selection pressure by the environment made unfit creatures extinct on this planet. Size became a liability, thus, mega-beasts are now only harmless fossils in the museums. But the small but terrible insects already developed their modern forms millions of years ago. Adaptation is the name of the game. So as you look at an insect under the microscope, you are looking back at millions of years of evolution.

The notion that they are pest is a matter of perspective. According to scientific evidences, insects evolved first than man. At least here, science and the Bible agree for God created everything first before Man. In this case, man is the gate-crasher and not the other way around. However, man influenced the insects' food supply and distribution by the systematic crop production and rapid distribution system throughout the world. The infamous Khapra beetle originated from India while the Bean weevil came from Africa.

Beetles and weevils have their skeleton outside whereas we have it inside. Magnified insects are as beautiful as alien creatures in the movies and terrible monsters of your nightmares. You are looking at breast-plated warriors, of armored tanks, attack helicopters and fancy robots. They don't look like organic at all but rather invincible industrial machines!

Unlike man, sex in insects as in animals is governed by instinct. It is not a contest of numbers like vital statistics, penis size, bust and butt size, number of orgasms, who rides and who is being rode upon and number of seduced mates. It is purely for reproduction without engagement, pimps and marriage contract. And bad conscience.

It takes only a few days after emergence that an insect can engage in sex. Such fornication! Sex is so blatant that they are inhibited. They have a built-in cologne that makes them attractive with each other. In the hidden world of psocids, Eve does not need Adam to give birth to Cain and Abel. The females can do it by themselves. Such self-help!

On the other hand, anthorid bugs engage themselves in a threesome like a hardcore porn that you surreptitiously buy and watch. While a male is copulating, another male injects his sperm to him so that what is transferred to the female is the latter's sperm and not the one who is actually engaged. In the insect world, this is allowed, no hard feelings.

Bed bugs and fleas simply stabbed their penises into the females' abdomen and presto, sex is done. This is so because they have short penises.

Among the most bizarre mating practice is that of the praying mantis. The female in a fit of orgasm beheads the male! Now, who's willing to lose his head in exchange for sex? Maybe Sam and Jerry! They do it because it is a source of protein important for the egg development! He lost his head twice. Sex and death as an after play must be the ultimate manifestation of love and devotion. In this game, he has no take two.

Insects gave birth to several young at the same time. Considering natal mortality, others will survive to continue the generation. Almost 90 percent of all insects undergo life stages that have distinctly different form that do not resemble one from the other -egg, larva, pupa and adult. Imagine yourself being batman, a flower, a god becoming man! Entomologists say this has survival value to the insect

Egg laying is also a ritual. Some females have serrated ovipositor to bury their eggs in the soil or in tree barks. Some are resistant to acids. Storage insect ensures their young for survival by laying eggs inside a grain and plugging it while others attached food debris on the sticky surfaces of shell. The most rapacious stages are the larval and adult stages. In most, so much time is devoted to eating but the short adult stage does not eat any more but spend their time in mating. Sayang ang oras. The pupal stage is not spent on sleeping but rather a tremendous transformation is occurring then. This is the most difficult stage of insects to control.

Maybe a little knowledge of their power might give . There is a direct relationship between available food and population density of insects. Red flour beetle voluntarily trim their number as the food dwindles. This is done through cannibalism. And there seems to be a method in their madness. Males eat the pupa while females that of eggs. They also have gender preferences, too. This Malthusian principle sacrifices number to that of extinction due to scarcity of food.

This is to gain wider perspective and maybe respective to the little creatures we hate, despise and feared. Even though they are pests, they have important roles to play in the delicate balance of ecosystem that we increasingly abuse by disregarding the qualities of our sworn enemies. Maybe a little knowledge of their power might give us a better appreciation as well as better control system..