Could Insects Be Secretly Plotting To Take Control of The Earth?

[Tycho]

This is not a joke thread. I recently considered the movies "Ants," and "A Bug's Life," and came away from them with startling conclusions.

The earliest dominant life on this planet was the dinosaurs, right? But insects existed back then, too.

A mass extinction occured and the new dominant life on this planet became mammals, of which we belong to that group. Insects are still around however.

Both the dinosaurs and humans are temperature sensitive. But insects are not as prone to be.

Furthermore, if there is some sort of natural disaster, a meteor collision with the earth, even an alien invasion and the enslavement or destruction of mankind, do you honestly think things will change in an ant colony or a bee hive?

The truth is that we don't know what those little guys are really up to. We could be the next dinosaurs and they're just waiting for our extinction. When we die, they're going to eat us of course!

But I've started to notice insects more often now - they're spying on us everywhere, patiently prepared for when they are to take over.

There's probably a spider in the corner somewhere along your walls right now. Silverfish and earwigs go on patrol. Cockroaches are much more rarer (one would hope) but they are the heavy artillery for the invasion and they'll appear on patrol at one point or another.

I know that insects provide a valuable staffing role in our ecosystem's personnel roster, but mind you: they are patiently waiting to enact a coup de tat and neither reptile nor mammal life will be able to deny them.

Furthermore, if advanced life on other planets could have followed our own evolutionary model, it would be wise to consider that the alien life we might encounter would be smaller than us, more adaptable, and insectoid!

This means that alien insects could invade our planet and completely alter our eco-systems yet survive on earth in complete comfort themselves.

Insects might be a superior form of life. You're striking a blow for all of us primatives when you step on a bug today!

[Slicker]

*sigh*


*shakes head* I...wow...

[Rogue II]

Tycho, I found an old message for you:

Just say no to drugs.

[mtriv73]

The exoskeleton of insects limits the size they can grow to as does the fact that they don't have lungs. They rely on their exoskeleton to keep from crushing under their own weight and rely on diffusion to get oxygen to their tissues and take CO2 away. The last time there were really big bugs (in the dinosaur days) on earth the oxygen levels were much higher than today. And even those weren't exactly huge.

Since their is some coorelation between brain size and intelligence, I don't think we need to worry about the bugs becoming big and smart and taking over. (Unless they evolve lungs and a skeleton, then I'm buying a ton of Raid and locking the door.)

[JimJamBonds]

Lay off the cold medication Tycho.

[figrin bran]

or in his case, "just say no to mouse droids". and stay away from gentle giant bust ups which pack an even greater hit than the mouse droids.

i'll say this without any scientific data to back me up, insects probably outnumber not only humans but probably every other species on earth as well. they're just waiting for massive nuclear explosions or for a huge meteor to crash into us and then they'll have the whole planet to themselves

lastly, i'll bet that the original thread title Tycho had was "i had a dream where i had to pick among 5 raw insects to eat"

[mabudonicus]

Tycho- bugs already "rule", they go where they wish and do what they like, they are super efficient, even use us as hosts in some instances, just cos they're not huge and bipedal english speaking things doesn't mean they dont already have what they want- besides, we help them out putting all sorts of crap everywheres, I wouldn't worry too much about it

And if you're REAL worried, I grow bug-eating plants, TONS of them and I can help you to join the fight Isobaws&

[Kidhuman]

*sigh*


*shakes head* I...wow...

Ditto *shrugs*

[Tycho]

The exoskeleton of insects limits the size they can grow to as does the fact that they don't have lungs. They rely on their exoskeleton to keep from crushing under their own weight and rely on diffusion to get oxygen to their tissues and take CO2 away. The last time there were really big bugs (in the dinosaur days) on earth the oxygen levels were much higher than today. And even those weren't exactly huge.

Since their is some coorelation between brain size and intelligence, I don't think we need to worry about the bugs becoming big and smart and taking over. (Unless they evolve lungs and a skeleton, then I'm buying a ton of Raid and locking the door.)

Oh, I didn't say that bugs were going to become bigger. I suggested that sustainable life on earth would gradually be limited to smaller and smaller forms - just as we are smaller than the dinosaurs.

They won't necessessarily need to become smarter lifeforms either. Bugs are already organized into absolute heirarchical social structures, usually led by monarchies - Queens in effect. They could have their own Ant Elizabeth, Regent Roach, Heir Apparent Earwig, etc. And we know that their societies are already organized for war. It happens and there are Army Ants, and so forth.

Furthermore, they don't need to develop advanced technology like airplanes - those that need to fly, already do.

What we can worry about is our own extinction, and bugs, exactly the way they are today, inheriting the earth.

and stay away from gentle giant bust ups which pack an even greater hit than the mouse droids.

- Really? I've never purchased those. Maybe I should start a collection.

i'll say this without any scientific data to back me up, insects probably outnumber not only humans but probably every other species on earth as well. they're just waiting for massive nuclear explosions or for a huge meteor to crash into us and then they'll have the whole planet to themselves

Exactly!

Tycho- bugs already "rule", they go where they wish and do what they like, they are super efficient, even use us as hosts in some instances, just cos they're not huge and bipedal english speaking things doesn't mean they dont already have what they want- besides, we help them out putting all sorts of crap everywheres,

So you've seen through their conspiracy and that we're even help bring about our own civilization's downfall!

And if you're REAL worried, I grow bug-eating plants, TONS of them and I can help you to join the fight

I think maybe we should do business. But then what if human life eventually dies out, insect life takes over, and then the remaining plant life is carniverous and eats all the insects? We could be looking at the end of all animal life on earth! If you think about it, this is logical. Mtriv73 already noted that oxygen levels were higher in the dinosaur days. Plants that were larger and a food source for Brachiosauruses have also died out and given way to smaller plants. Deforestization for construction, farming, and even paper manufacturing has significantly reduced plant life on earth. Carniverous plants are considerably smaller and not used nor grow in many of the affected areas - and more importantly, they get their nutrician from the insects they eat. Thus they don't rely on photosynthesis and oxygen / carbon dioxide balances like other plants. They could eventually propogate more over other plantlife, eat all the insects, and wind up ruling the earth!

Aliens may wind up coming to visit us some millenium down the road and finding the ruins of our civilization, with dinosaur bones in the remnants of our museums, and the planet occupied by carniverous plants which might feed on each other the way weeds attack a garden. They might conclude that the plants ate all the animals and took over the world!

But the plants won't win either! I've just recalled a theory that the universe is expanding outward from the big bang, but this will only carry on for so long. Because of entropy (I think), the universe will collapse back in on itself and all the organization or randomization we will have discovered about it will be destroyed as the massive gravitational shift collapses planets into other stars and more planets, and so forth - like the universe itself is inhaling. And then it will exhale all over again!. We may be the bacterial equivalent of life on one of the universe's oxygen molecules, comparatively speaking!

[Dar' Argol]

The exoskeleton of insects limits the size they can grow to as does the fact that they don't have lungs. They rely on their exoskeleton to keep from crushing under their own weight and rely on diffusion to get oxygen to their tissues and take CO2 away. The last time there were really big bugs (in the dinosaur days) on earth the oxygen levels were much higher than today. And even those weren't exactly huge.

Since their is some coorelation between brain size and intelligence, I don't think we need to worry about the bugs becoming big and smart and taking over. (Unless they evolve lungs and a skeleton, then I'm buying a ton of Raid and locking the door.)

Obviously you have never seen Starship Troopers. Just wait until they evolve the Brain Bug . . . then we are in real trouble. And no amount of mouse droid sniffing can help us then!