0
The "fairy fly," actually a species of parasitic wasp, battles with a near relative for the title of World's Tiniest Insect. With the upturn of an even more diminuative subspecies, the fairy fly is again in the lead with a body length of 0.14 millimeter.
Few field scales have the precision to weigh this little sucker, but we can make an estimate based on another insect: the ant.
Ants and wasps are closely related, so they share the same general form, although the fairy flies are on the delicate side even given their tinyness.
Ants vary greatly in body size, with the biggest jumbos standing in the same relative proportions to their itsy cousins as elephants do to housecats, but we can pick one species, the carpenter ant, which is 6 millimeters long (about halfway across your little fingernail) and 3 milligrams in weight (the standard 325-mg aspirin tablet is about 370 milligrams, counting the filler).
OK, now as the carpenter ant is 42 times longer that the fairy fly, its mass is something like the cube of that (42 x 42 x 42). Divide that number into 3 milligrams and you get 40 nanograms. However, side-by-side pictures of ants and fairy flies shown the former to be quite a bit more robust.
A reasonable estimate would put the fairy fly at 25 nanograms.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What is the world's lightest insect?
It is actually the Blood sucking banded louse (male)
Is the fairy fly the smallest animal in the world?
the smallest flying animal is the bee hummingbird
What small bug looks like a flea but isn't a flea?
Gnats are very small insects that fly around and look like a flea. Despite their similar appearance, they are not actually fleas.
Why can't an elephant fly?
Only in Dumbo. They don't even have the capacity to jump.ELEPHANTS cannot fly.
What is a blue fairy?
A blue fairy is a type of fairy that probably does something with the sky. And dresses in blue.
What is the length of a fairy fly in fractions?
1/8
Are fairy fly helpful or harmful to people?
hahahha
How can you tell if you're a fairy?
You Can Fly You Have Wings and You Have a Wand.
What is fact about fairy flies?
Fairy Flies are born adults Fairy Flies are the smallest insect Fairy Flies can fly through the eye of a pin Fairy Flies can swim Fairy Flies aren't actually flies they are wasps
Simile for she could fly like a Pls help me?
She could fly like a fairy
If the tooth fairy flew around the world how far would she have to fly?
No one knows, only God and the Tooth Fairy. She'd probably have to fly more than a billion kilometers.
What is the fairy flies scientific name?
The scientific name for the fairy fly (one species anyway) is ... Dicopomorphia echmepterygis.
What is the definition of the word flutter?
To fly gracefully like a fairy.
Can you fly with fairydust?
No, because there is no such thing as fairy dust. Sorry.
What does an fairy fly insect look like?
You can find a picture of a Fairy Fly wasp from Spike Walker the winner of Olympus BioScapes 2008 at http://www.olympusbioscapes.com/gallery/2008/index.html
What do these 3 words have in common weight fly and sand?
The words weight, fly and sand have "fly" in common, because together they can form other words. Their direct relationship is: fly, fly weight, and sand fly.
How have you lost weight?
I ate "fairy" portions.
