There are no more mysterious creatures on the planet than insects. In our today's Top 10 collected the largest insects in the world.
Someone such a company can scare, someone will cause a lot of curiosity. But surely no one will remain indifferent when they see a twenty-centimeter beetle. By the way, according to many scientists, the discovery of species previously unknown to science is most likely among insects. So it is quite possible that our current ten will replenish with new participants in the very near future.
10. Giant Ueta (Deinacrida heteracantha)
Body length - 10 cm, excluding legs, weight reaches 70 grams. These wingless insects live in New Zealand. Ueta are considered one of the heaviest insects in the world. A weight record of 71 grams was recorded when weighing a pregnant Ueta female.
9. Giant stag beetle (Lucanus elaphus).
It reaches a length of 30-40 mm without mandrels or 45-60 mm, including mandibles. These large beetles of the genus Lucanus of the stag family live in North America. European relatives of American stag beetles are slightly smaller and are called Lucanus cervus.
8. Goliath beetles (Goliathus)
The body length in males is 80–110 mm, in females –50–80 mm, and weight is about 47 grams. According to some eyewitnesses, there are individuals weighing about 100 grams. Goliaths live in Central and Southeast Africa. The large size combined with the contrasting black and white color makes this beetle one of the most beautiful insects in the world.
7. Giant sticks (Dryococelus australis)
It reaches a length of 12 cm with a thickness of 1.5 cm, lives on the Australian island of Lord Howe. This insect, resembling a dry grass stem, is one of the rarest on Earth. Until 2001, the species was even considered extinct, however, scientists discovered colonies of 20-30 individuals on Lord Howe and neighboring islands.
6. Queen Alexandra Bird Wing
– the largest butterfly in the world. The female has a wing span of 35 cm. This species inhabits the territory of Papua New Guinea. The survival of the offspring is provided in a very unusual way - the caterpillars of this species are inedible for predators, since the butterflies feed on the poisonous pollen of the Aristolochia schlecteri plant.
5. Dugout-digger (Geotrupidae)
- a family of large beetles, uniting more than 500 species. The length of the body of a dung beetle can be from 3 to 70 mm, the color can be black, brown, purple or yellowish.
4. Giant water bug (Belostomatidae)
It reaches a length of 15 cm. These large insects live in fresh waters of South America, East and Southeast Asia (India, Thailand).
3. Butterfly peacock-eye (Attacus atlas)
It has an impressive wingspan - up to 26 cm. The beautiful red-brown color in combination with white “eyes” looks very elegant and makes it the most beautiful butterfly in the world.
2. Chan Megapolder (Phobaeticus chani)
– the longest insect in the world. The length of a body resembling a dry branch can reach 37 cm, and taking into account the legs - 56 cm. These insects inhabit the island of Kalimantan and are simply camouflage champions - it is almost impossible to find a stick-house among the branches.
1. Lumberjack-titan (Titanus giganteus)
– the largest insect in the world. The length of the body of this beetle reaches 21 cm. The species is very few, but lives in the vast territory of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Suriname, Guyana, Bolivia and Brazil.
