The question of the strongest bug in the world highlights the disproportionate power of the insect kingdom. Compared to mammals, insects possess an incredible capacity for strength. The answer is not a single name, as the title depends entirely on the method of measurement. Two distinct metrics determine who holds the crown.
Defining Strength: Absolute vs. Relative
Absolute strength refers to the sheer, total mass or weight an organism can lift, carry, or pull. This metric favors the largest and heaviest animals.
The second metric is relative strength, which calculates the amount of weight an animal can move in proportion to its own body mass (the weight-to-body-weight ratio). This is where insects truly excel. Because of the physics of scaling, smaller organisms naturally have a much higher relative strength than larger ones.
The World Record Holder for Relative Strength
The insect recognized as the strongest animal on the planet by the mass-to-body-weight ratio is the horned dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. This small scarab beetle possesses a staggering pulling capacity. Male O. taurus can pull a load equivalent to 1,141 times their own body weight.
Scientists measured this feat by testing the beetle’s maximum pulling force, which is primarily used in intraspecies competition. Males use their strength to fight rivals for access to mates and to roll balls of dung. This power is directly linked to reproductive success. To put this into a human perspective, a person with equivalent relative strength could pull six fully loaded double-decker buses.
Contenders for Absolute Strength
While the dung beetle wins the proportional contest, a different group of insects holds the title for moving the greatest total mass. These giants of the insect world are contenders for absolute strength. The Goliath beetle (Goliathus species) is among the largest and heaviest insects, with adult males weighing up to 50 grams.
Despite their lower relative strength ratio, their sheer size means the total weight they can move is far greater. A Goliath beetle can lift an object around 850 times its body weight, translating to a total mass of over 42 kilograms. Other massive beetles, such as the Hercules beetle, also compete in this category, relying on their bulk to move enormous obstacles. They use their size and power to push through dense vegetation and fight off rivals.
The Science Behind Insect Super Strength
The incredible strength of insects is primarily a consequence of fundamental biological and physical principles, especially the square-cube law. This law explains that as any animal increases in size, its volume and mass increase much faster than the cross-sectional area of its muscles. Since a muscle’s strength is proportional to its cross-sectional area (a squared value), while the body’s weight is proportional to its volume (a cubed value), small animals are naturally favored.
The insect exoskeleton acts as a highly efficient external skeleton, providing large internal surface areas for muscle attachment. Structures called apodemes and apophyses are internal folds of the exoskeleton that serve as attachment points for muscle fibers. This design creates an effective lever system, allowing muscles to generate large forces and provide mechanical advantage.
Insect muscle tissue is also structurally efficient, possessing a similar striated pattern to vertebrate muscle. The muscle tissue benefits from a highly effective oxygen delivery system via a network of tubes called tracheoles, which supply oxygen directly to the muscle cells. This direct and localized oxygenation leads to a high density of muscle tissue and allows for a significantly higher rate of energy production, contributing to their super strength.