Insects represent three-fifths of all living species- plants and animals combined.

 

 Spider silk is used as the cross hairs and sighting marks in a variety of engineering and lab instruments, as well for the sights in spotting scopes of rifles.

 

 Spiders and snakes are the two most feared creatures on earth.

 

Forensic entomologists use maggots (fly eggs) collected on bodies to help determine time of death.

 

 Carpenter ants derive their name from their habit of chewing galleries into wood and leaving sawdust piles around the entrance to the nest.

 

 Cockroaches have been with us for 350 million years and have survived floods, famine, fire, trips to outer space and even nuclear tests.

 

Seven to eight percent of the general population is allergic to cockroaches.

 

 Fleas have the distinction of killing more people than all the wars man has ever fought. The "Black Death" plague killed 1/4 of Europe's population in the 14th century, caused by germs transmitted from rodents to humans by fleas.

 

A dozen cockroaches can live off the paste on the back of a postage stamp.

 

The pest control industry services 12 million U.S. households every year.

 

 Termites cause about $800 million in damage each year in this country, more than all fires, storms and earthquakes combined.

 

A female mouse is in heat approximately every 4 to 5 days.

 

In just 6 months, 1 pair of mice can eat up to 4 pounds of food and deposit as many as 18,000 droppings.

 

It is estimated that there is at least 1 rat per person in this country.

 

German cockroaches are most commonly introduced into buildings through paper products, grocery bags, cardboard boxes, drink cartons, and second hand appliances.

 

Worker ants can live up to 7 years, while the queen ant can live as long as 15 years.

 

There are over 550 different species of ants found in the United States.

 

The total weight of all termites in the world is greater than all the humans in the world.