Possibly the world’s weirdest insects, male strepsipterans are gnat-sized flying critters with huge eyes, fine senses and lifespans of only a few hours. They exist solely to find the female and mate, which can be quite tricky, because the female Strepsipteran is a limbless, eyeless, bag-like parasite living inside the body of another insect, such as a fly, bee or even a preying mantis, with only her head sticking out of the host’s body to breathe. To find herself a male, the parasite will release her mating pheromones on the wind and force her insect host to wait patiently in an obvious and convenient location, such as the tip of a long leaf or twig. Try to imagine having to stand around for hours while the face on your back flirts with strange, tiny men. Days later, she’ll upchuck a bunch of live larvae on the next flower you visit, the perfect place to infect even more insects.
9. Fish Flukes
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