Short Life Creatures: 15 Poor Animals With The Shortest Lifespan

animals with the shortest lifespan animals with the shortest lifespan

Imagine our lifespan was only about a couple of years, what would you do? Being the animals with the shortest lifespan is both a curse and a blessing. On the bright side, some of these creatures are pests which is better for them to die faster. Today, we will look into 15 animals that leave the earth so fast; some of which are our common pets. So let’s find out what are the animals with the shortest lifespan that we bring you below.

15Guinea Pigs

image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 5 – 7 Years

The lifespan of guinea pigs depends on their breed. For example, hairless guinea pigs can live up to 8 years. While regular and common guinea pigs can survive our world for only about 5 years. Guinea pigs are one popular pet since they are cute and fluffy as well as playful. However, they are not ideal for long-term commitment pet owners.


image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 5 Years

Just like butterflies, there are more than a hundred species of gerbils in the world; and they have various lifespans. In captivity, a pet gerbil can only live up to 5 years at most. However, some other breeds can live up to 8 years. Gerbils are one great pet to have, but they are not ideal for those who get attached to their pets because of the short lifespan.


image: Max Pixel

Lifespan: 2 – 3 Years

No matter what breed of the hamster that you choose as a pet is, their lifespan cannot be longer than 3.5 years. The lifespan of hamsters ranges from 1.5 to 3.5 years, and that’s it. In captivity, a hamster lives between 18 months to 2 years only. Hamsters are great house pets for kids and those who have short-term commitment with pets.

12Panther Chameleon

image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 2-3 Years

Panther Chameleon is one of the most colorful chameleon species, and their lifespan relies on the care they are given. Many people want to have them as pets despite the fact that these chameleons are not easy to tame. Usually, male chameleons outlive the females.


image: Max Pixel

Lifespan: 2 Years

It does not take long for a mouse to grow up and produce their offspring, but their lifespan is also very short. In the wild, an average mouse can live only up to about five to six months. As for house mice, they have an abundant supply of food without competition or harm from predators. That means they can live up to two years the longest.


image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 2 Years

Opossums are remarkable creatures for many reasons, but the facts we talk about today are only two. First, their pregnancy is very short. The babies are born only about 11 to 13 days after they mate, which results in super small babies. In the wild, an opossum can only live for about 1 or 2 years. However, their lifespan goes as long as 4 years in captivity.


image: Max Pixel

Lifespan: 2 Years

There are different species of robin, and the average ones can live up to 6 years. As for American Robin, their lifespan is only 2 years. If these birds could survive to midwinter, they can live to an average age of 1.7 years after that. The sad thing is that a majority of Robins do not live to their third birthday.


image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 1 Year

There are many different species of shrimp both in saltwater and freshwater, and their common lifespan is about 1 year. That depends on their living conditions as well as their safety. In captivity, some shrimps can live for more than 20 years.


image: Max Pixel

Lifespan: 4 Months

There are more than 500 species of dragonflies today, and the ones with the shortest lifespan can only live up to about 4 months. The interesting thing about dragonflies is that they spend a very short part of their life as actual adult dragonflies. Also, most dragonflies don’t die of old age but are usually caught by predators. Dragonflies can actually live longer as nymphs, and they can only live for a few months the moment they mature into adults.


image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 56 Days (Female), 10 Days (Male)

Mosquitoes go through 4 stages of their life cycles including egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Female mosquitoes feed on blood to provide nutrients for the eggs which they lay onto the water. As for the male mosquitoes, they rather feed on flower nectar instead. Once reaching adulthood, male mosquitoes can live from 7 to 10 days. In contrast, females of the species can live up to 40 to 55 days.

5Worker Honey Bee

image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 5 – 7 Weeks

So worker honey bees are the smallest members of the colony, but have the largest number of individuals. A hive can contain from 20,000 to 80,000 workers, and every of which has a lifespan from 5 to 7 weeks. They spend their first few weeks working within the hive, and the last few foraging for food and gathering pollen or nectar. The lifespan of honey bees depends on pollen consumption and protein abundance. As for the queens, they could live for several years.

4House Fly

image: Max Pixel

Lifespan: 4 Weeks

Despite the fact that each female fly can lay up to 500 eggs, their lifespan is only about 4 weeks. Most of the time, no flies could survive till they get old and die. These pests die in many various ways especially in weather conditions that are not favorable to them.

3Drone Ants

Lifespan: 3 Weeks

Weird as it sounds, Drones are the only male ants in a colony, and they born from unfertilized eggs. Was born with wings, drones look more like wasps than ants. Unlike workers, drone ants don’t do any work in the nests at all. These ants go up to the sky on the same day as the princesses to mate during the nuptial flight. Yup, weird right? Unfortunately, drones die after they have mated. These ants are destined to survive just a few weeks or a few months during the mating season. Drones might be one of the animals with the shortest lifespan, but they play a crucial part in the ant life cycle.


image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 14 Days

There are many different species and types of butterflies on earth, but an average one cannot live longer than 2 weeks. The shortest lifespan of a butterfly is 24 hours or less, that counts when they hatch from their cocoon. The lifespan of butterflies also depends on their size, where they live, and what time of year it became an adult.


image: Pixabay

Lifespan: 24 Hours

This is the creature with the shortest life span in the list, aka One-Day insect. So there are 2500 different species of mayflies in the world, and some members can only live for a few hours. As a matter of fact, mayflies don’t even have mouths and digestive systems since they don’t live long enough to need those. After they are born, mayflies have only some hours to find their partner for a mating flight and die at the end of the day. After mating and laying eggs, adult mayflies die and fall back into the water becoming food for whoever finds them.

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