When you think of insects, do you think of small creatures like bees, beetles, dragonflies, etcIndeed, they have always been tiny beings in our hearts, mostly no more than 5 centimeters in length. Today, let's refresh our knowledge of insects and explore the 10 largest superinsects in the world.
10th place: Desert Mount Everest.
Desert Everest can reach a body length of 5 centimeters, making it the largest species in Everest. They have a dark blue body and bright orange-red wings. You can find these predatory Everest from India to Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia or the Americas. Desert Everest is extremely ferocious, and they are very good at using toxins on their antennae to numb tarantulas larger than themselves. That's when the mother desert Everest appears, and they will lay eggs in the body of the spider that has been poisoned. At this time, the spider was already doomed. As the days go by, the desert pig bee eggs will hatch into hungry larvae, which will slowly eat the spider as it grows, like a horror movie alien. When the larvae matures, it will bite through the spider's belly and officially begin its adult life in the outside world. Fortunately, this desert Mount Everest rarely actively attacks humans and poses little threat to humans. But anyone who dares to provoke them will face terrible retribution. The spike of Everest in the desert can bring severe pain that lasts for 3 minutes, and the pain of being bitten by it is second only to that of bullet ants, and the person bitten by it is like being struck by lightning in an instant, and people can't help but scream, and even twist or roll over due to extreme pain, as if every muscle in the body has been hit by sharp energy. It's definitely a unique feeling.
9th place: Giant cave cockroach.
This cockroach, also known as the rhinoceros cockroach, is native to Australia and is also found in the rainforests of Central and northern South America. It usually looks for places with high humidity and low light, such as hollow trees or caves, as its habitat, which is where its name comes from. As the largest and longest-lived cockroaches, male rhino cockroaches can grow up to 7 centimeters, females can even grow up to 10 centimeters, and can weigh more than 60 grams. Unlike the super invincible and nasty cockroaches that crawl around in our homes, rhino cockroaches don't like to move, and they don't have wings, have a docile personality and have a certain IQ. It is generally not considered a pest, and some people even keep it as a pet. Although it is an omnivorous insect, its diet basically consists of plants.
8th place: Giant Asian praying mantis.
The giant Asian praying mantis is the largest of the praying mantis family and can generally grow up to 7-10 centimeters. Females will be slightly larger than males. Their excellent predatory skills and habits are amazing. For them, they eat everything they can catch anyway, including but not limited to other mantis of the same kind, and the bigger the mantis, the bigger the prey it can catch. Sometimes, even hummingbirds and sparrows are on their menus. They also have the strange property that when mating, female praying mantis usually eats male praying mantises. Now the giant Asian praying mantis is often kept as pets in the home, and fortunately, they do not grow up to the point of threatening their owners.
7th place: Giant Shark.
The giant insect of the giant shark lives only on a few islands in New Zealand and looks like an enlarged version of the locust. Their diet consists mainly of plants, other small insects, and fruits. Adult individuals can reach 8-10 centimeters in length, and some of them weigh up to seventy or eighty grams, which is 50 times that of ordinary locusts. Did you know that giant sharks also have the title of living fossils, because they live on isolated islands, it can be said that there are basically no large natural predators, and it is also for this reason that in the last nearly 200 million years, they have hardly evolved at all, that is, what they looked like 200 million years ago, they look like now. The shark is a very aggressive insect that is fierce enough to scare away mice, but it generally does not attack people and only defends itself when threatened. When faced with large animals like cats and dogs, it never intimidates it, and even wants to play with it, even if they don't know the consequences of doing so.
6th place: Malaysian Giant Brown Silk.
Malaysian giant brown silk can grow up to 15 cm and can grow up to 25 cm under normal circumstances. This insect is somewhere between a cricket and a stick insect, with long legs and a bright green appearance. This makes it look like a leaf, which is very conducive to its own concealment, and when it is still it can almost blend in with the environment. Unlike normal grasshoppers, they do not jump, but they have some ability to fly. Their defense mechanism is also very interesting, when in danger, they will throw their droppings as bait as far as possible, and then take the opportunity to flee when the attention of predators is attracted to the droppings. There is no one who throws this kind of** friend.
Fifth place: Hercules halberd Dadu worm.
The longest record for the adult of Hercules' halberd is 18At 4 cm, it is one of the longest beetles in the world and one of the largest in the world. It is mainly found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. Their strength is so incredible that they can lift objects up to 850 times their body weight. Converted, that's the equivalent of a person lifting 65 tons of an object. No wonder people named it after Hercules, the Hercules of Greek mythology. Hercules' halberd is characterized by two pincer-like horns, which are usually used for fighting, lifting weights, or demonstrating strength. Although they look terrifying, they are very quiet in front of humans.
Fourth place: Titan Beetle.
The titan beetle lives in the Amazon rainforest of South America and is the largest species of beetle in the region. In the rainforests of Colombia, Peru, Guyana, Ecuador and north-central Brazil, you can easily catch them with mercury lamps, especially the male titan beetle, which is particularly attracted to the light. The adult worms of the titan beetle can grow up to 12 cm to 17 cm, and the body length can reach 18 cm to 23 cm if the antennae length is calculated. It is said that the jaw of the titan beetle can easily bite off a pencil, and it is only a matter of minutes to cut into the ** of a human. Adult titan beetles never eat, they just fly around looking for mates and are easily attracted to bright light in the dark. The larvae of the titan beetle have never been found, but scientists believe that its larvae should live in wood, grow up after several years of development, and finally pupate into adults. Normally, they hiss to intimidate enemies, and their hard exoskeleton and powerful jaws make their ** and armor. Unless you actively tease them, this large insect will not attack humans easily.
3rd place: Atlas Moth.
The Atlas moth, also known as the giant silkworm moth or snakehead moth, lives mainly in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Its wings are shaped a bit like the head of a cobra and are often used to scare off predators. As the largest moth in the world, they can reach a wingspan of 18-21 cm, and females are larger than males. Mothra, the famous monster in the Godzilla films, is based on this moth. Depending on the geographical location, the Atlas moth will also have different body patterns and colors. In order to reproduce, females release intense hormones to attract males, who must have a keen chemical reception system at their plumes. Even when they are several kilometers away, they can sense the hormones released by the female as long as they are facing the wind. Atlas moths generally do not have a stable flight habit, so female moths do not fly very far after being broken. They first observe the direction of air flow, find a satisfactory shelter in the surrounding area, and then begin to spread their hormones. Atlas moths in their adult state will shed their mouth organs, so they will not be able to eat when they reach adulthood, and they will only be able to sustain themselves by absorbing the remaining nutrients in their bodies during their larval years. So their life cycle is also very short, about one to two weeks later. For a variety of reasons, the Atlas moth population has become relatively low, and people have had to breed it in captivity to maintain their populations.
2nd place: Alexandra bird-winged butterfly.
The Alexandra birdwing butterfly is considered the largest butterfly in the world, females can even grow up to 25 centimeters, and males are relatively smaller, but they can also reach 16-20 centimeters. They are brightly colored and beautiful, but as an endangered species, all forms of trade in live and specimens are prohibited except for scientific purposes. Therefore, people who want to collect their specimens based on their beauty can give up this idea. Because they are so rare, the Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly on the black market can even sell for £10,000. Did you know that the first Alexandra birdwing butterfly was not caught by a worm net, but was shot down from the high canopy with a shotgun? This butterfly's powerful flight ability and unrivalled size are evident in this. This specimen with faint marks on the wings is still lying in the British Museum, and those who are interested can go and see it up close.
1st place: stick insects.
Many entomologists around the world agree that stick insects are the largest insects in the world. As far as the currently known stick insects are concerned, the longest body length can reach 624 centimeters, much larger than the palm of our hand, and even the most common stick insects can reach between 6 centimeters and 24 centimeters in length. They are generally distributed in tropical ** regions, inhabiting alpine dense forests and complex habitats. The typical mimicry and protective color that resembles their habitat make them less susceptible to predators, and indeed they look like a stick or a thin branch. But don't be fooled by its ordinary appearance, in fact, stick insects are super terrifying and lethal. When an adult ploughing ox mistakenly swallows it with pasture, it will vomit severely, foam at the mouth, or even die directly. It turns out that this huge, secretive insect is the host of the parasitic nematode, and when its natural enemies hunt and devour it, the parasite in its body will play a role in helping its host to avenge its host. Therefore, if you accidentally encounter stick insects in the wild, it is recommended that you put away your curiosity and stay away immediately.