Which insects have the longest life spans under ideal conditions? Do any lives for years and years?
Here’s a possible contender:
From this site.
Additional: from the Smithsonian’s BugInfo site, they list queen termites as living up to 50 years.
www.triviaplanet.com confirms Ice Wolf’s answer. According to this entry, other long-lived insects are some cicadas (17 years) and queen termites (15 years).
My 12th grade English teacher.
It might depend on what you mean by ‘live’. IIRC some of the collembolans routinely go into a state of torpor when they dehydrate. They can last indefinitely like that. Not sure if that counts as living though.
Yep, IIRC.
Collembolans go into a state of supended animation when subject to dehydration or cold stress. In that state metabolism shuts down completelyas far as can be determined. They can last essentially forever.
So I suppose that’s the probable winner at a stretch.
Wouldn’t it depend on whether the Class Parainsecta (including collembolans) is included in this? I understand they aren’t “true insects”.
Well there you go. They use’ta be insects. Looks like the taxonomists got bored again.
Ah to hell with it. They got six legs and antennae, they’re insects to me.