{"id":31574,"date":"2023-09-07T15:28:03","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T13:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=79047"},"modified":"2023-09-07T16:35:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T14:35:42","slug":"biggest-insects-in-the-world-from-a-60cm-long-stick-insect-to-a-hefty-100g-beetle-larva","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/biggest-insects-in-the-world-from-a-60cm-long-stick-insect-to-a-hefty-100g-beetle-larva\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest insects in the world, from a 60cm-long stick insect to a hefty 100g beetle larva"},"content":{"rendered":"

Given the sheer variety of insects in the world it is difficult to name the largest, says the charity Buglife, but here are our contenders for the world’s biggest insects <\/p>

By Buglife\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 07 September 2023 at 13:28 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Determining which insect is the largest is a tricky endeavour; the word large will mean many things depending on who you talk to. It could be the length of an insect or its weight, wingspan \u2013 maybe even \u00a0general bulk.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consequently, we\u2019re going to have a look at a number of different species that could fall into the world\u2019s largest insect category and leave it to you to decide which you think comes out on top!<\/p>\n

Here are the contenders for world\u2019s largest insect\u2026.<\/p>\n

World\u2019s largest insects<\/h2>\n

World\u2019s longest insect<\/h3>\n
\"Phryganistria\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
The giant Chinese stick insect \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The world\u2019s longest insect is currently the giant Chinese stick insect (Phryganistria chinensis);<\/em> discovered in China as recently as 2014. The adult female first found in the wild measured 624mm in length with legs outstretched, but was surpassed by one of its captive-bred young that reached 640mm in length!\u00a0 The jungle nymph stick insect (Heteropteryx dilatata<\/em>) of Malaysia does not reach the same impressive lengths as its Chinese cousin, but is one of the chunkier \u2018sticks\u2019, and is often cited as one of the heaviest, reaching up to 65g in weight.<\/p>\n

World\u2019s largest dragonfly or damselfly<\/h3>\n
\"biggest\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Helicopter Damselfly in La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The blue-winged helicopter (Megaloprepus caerulatus<\/em>), a damselfly from the Central American rainforests, is the largest living member of the dragonfly and damselfly order<\/a><\/strong>, Odonata. With a body length of about 130mm and a wingspan of 190mm, it\u2019s almost twice the size of the UK\u2019s emperor dragonfly and makes an easy meal of its chosen prey, orb-weaver spiders, which it plucks straight from a spider\u2019s web.<\/p>\n

World\u2019s largest butterfly<\/h3>\n
\"\u00a9\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Queen Alexandra\u2019s birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae<\/em>) is the largest butterfly in the world<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 It is found in eastern Papua New Guinea and adult females can have a body length of about 80mm and a wingspan slightly in excess of 250mm.<\/p>\n

World\u2019s heaviest insect<\/h3>\n
\"Little\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
\u00a9 Dinobass, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Little Barrier Island giant w\u0113t\u0101 (Deinacrida heteracantha<\/em>) could also appear in the world\u2019s largest insects list. Endemic to New Zealand, where it survives only on Little Barrier Island and some predator-free conservation areas that it has been translocated to, this relative of the grasshopper can measure up to 100mm in length. It is often cited as the heaviest insect in the world, with one captive female reaching a mass of 71g.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

World\u2019s largest beetle<\/h3>\n
\"Goliathus\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Goliathus regius<\/i>\u00a0on display at the\u00a0Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano<\/a> \u00a9 Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Many beetles reach great sizes but the royal Goliath beetle (Goliathus regius<\/em>) is among the largest beetles<\/strong><\/a>, measuring up to 115mm in length. Found in western equatorial Africa, this Goliath of insects primarily feeds on tree sap and fruits, and despite its large size it can fly well. Goliath beetle larvae get even bigger and are capable of growing up to 250mm in length and reaching weights in excess of 100g!<\/p>\n