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It is a really good question what is the most famous insect in biology. There is a good case to be made for Drosophila, but I would be inclined to select Anophe
by danieltillett 10y ago
It is a really good question what is the most famous insect in biology. There is a good case to be made for Drosophila, but I would be inclined to select Anopheles first purely on the deaths it has caused [1].
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anopheles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anopheles
- Amygaz 10y agoDepends on your angle: In term impact to the field of biological science, definitely Drosophila melanogaster. Lots of genetics, and now even brain research. In term of most beneficial to humans: bees (direct economical benefits) and ants (largest environmental benefits, so indirect benefit to human) In term of biggest threat, the debate is open, and always changing: before mosquitoes (Anopheles and Aedes), houseflies can carry a lot of diseases of every kind (parasites, bacteria, viruses). At one point it was the flea (the Black Death). Grasshopper and crickets also caused a lot of people to die from hunger, and are still significant agricultural pests. Ants and termites (crops, food supplies, infrastructures, diseases...)
- tim333 10y agoMucking about with Google Trends the winner seems to be 'mosquito' for most searched.