The male water boatman hits 99.2 decibels – equivalent to hearing an orchestra from the front row – as it belts out its mating call.

The two-milimetre insect creates the sound by rubbing its penis against its abdomen – making it the noisiest species relative to its size.


Researchers from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, recorded the sound using underwater microphones.

Dr James Windmill said: “It’s so loud, a person walking along the bank can hear these tiny creatures singing from the river bottom.

“If you scale the sound against their body size, they are the loudest on Earth.”

The study was published in the journal PLoS One.