Richard Jones takes a look at the contenders for the title of Britain’s biggest flying insect

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Published: Thursday, 05 September 2024 at 17:19 PM


Despite the broad wingspans of swallowtails and hawkmoths, Britain’s largest flying insect is likely a beetle.

There are three contenders for the title of Britain’s biggest flying insect: the stag beetle, great silver diving beetle and sawyer beetle.

These large, impressive insects all make a clockwork model- aeroplane buzz when they take to the air of a warm summer evening, and the approach of any is enough to make you duck.

Beetles are renowned for their diversity, and one of their secrets is the ability to fold their delicate wings, origami-style, under tough, protective wingcases so they can push out of sight into the herbage, among the root thatch or under logs.

Though each is about 45-55mm long in the body, once the spring-loaded wings are unfolded, they can have a span approaching 130mm. Large dragonflies also reach this, but are famously slim and slight in comparison.