Test Your Knowledge: Poisonous Bugs and Spiders Quiz

About This Quiz

Many people don’t like regular bugs and spiders all that much, so the poison-sporting kinds are a hard pass, thankyouverymuch. While most of us know that we want to steer clear of them, it’s not uncommon for people to misunderstand the very real difference between “poisonous” and “venomous.” Venomous creatures are the kind that bite, sting or otherwise pierce your person to do their damage. Poisonous creatures contain poison, but they don’t do the attacking -- for someone to come in contact with the offensive poison they’d have to touch or bite into them.

Poisonous or venomous creatures don’t exactly corner the market on creepy, however. There once was an insect called the “griffinfly,” which was basically a giant ancient dragonfly that boasted a wingspan of up to 2.5 feet (0.8 meters). Fortunately, they exited stage left long before humans burst on the scene, otherwise the bug spray industry would have really had its work cut out for it. One bad boy you do have to watch out for today (if you’re in New Zealand, anyway), is the “giant weta,” which can weigh more than a pound, and is described as “a cricket-like beast.”

These guys keep good company because by some estimates, there are 10 quintillion insects on the planet, and many are venomous. And although the vast majority of spiders are the do-no-harm variety, there are still plenty of the dangerous sort. Australia alone sports 50 to 100 species of venomous bad boys! Now that you’re sufficiently creeped out, take this quiz and test your knowledge about the poisonous/venomous creepy-crawlies of the world!