when we think of insects bugs creepy crawlies or whatever else you might want to call them we think of small things bugs are tiny that’s just the way things are right well actually some insects are way larger than you might expect some are big enough to cause serious trouble these are the biggest insects ever found in the world [Music] number 15 giant african land snail cats and dogs make great pets but they aren’t exactly unique are they even talking about your pet goldfish won’t raise too many eyebrows but do you know what wood a giant african land snail and because people wanted them as pets as a talking point they became one of the world’s most invasive pests these huge snails can live up to 10 years in the wild and eat almost anything they can get their slithery little bodies on their shells can grow up to around 7.8 inches long and an adult giant snail can weigh over an ounce they are by no means minuscule while they originate in tanzania and kenya they are also found in china india and the southern united states in places like south florida where they have no natural predators their numbers grew out of control this is not exactly helped by the fact that they can breed up to six times per year with numerous snails in each clutch it’s not entirely known why they make such popular pets but we feel that spongebob squarepants and gary have a lot to answer for like this video smash the subscribe button and click the notification bell right now or this centipede will crawl on your face when you’re sleeping now it’s time for the odd topic no you’re not looking at a sci-fi movie right now this is a real insect this colossal beasty is the hickory horn devil one of the largest caterpillars in the world an absolutely horrifying sight to behold these beefy monstrosities look like they wriggled right out of a guillermo del toro movie they can grow to 14 centimeters in length which is around about the same as a large hot dog they’re relatively common in south america but become rarer and rarer the norther you go don’t worry though they’re not as scary as they might look the spines are not sharp nor poisonous and are actually kind of flexible despite the dragon-like appearance they’re totally harmless thank christ for that remember to comment down below with the hashtag oddtopic and let us know your opinion in relation to what we just showed on screen and now to the next topic number 14. the goliath beetles beetles would have to be one of the hardiest insects on earth they exist in all parts of the world and some form of beetle has been on earth for at least 300 million years most everyday beetles you come across are reasonably unimaginative to look at but not the goliath beetle there’s a reason it has goliath in its name this beetle is absolutely huge it is one of the largest insects on earth when you consider its bulk weight and size females can grow up to around 3 inches long while adult males may even grow over 4 inches it’s also not uncommon for them to weigh as much as 3.5 ounces this huge beetle fortunately means us no harm they live in tropical rainforests throughout africa and live on fruit and tree sap in captivity though they’ve been reared from tiny eggs to huge adults on commercial dog and cat food among other protein protein-rich foods like most other beetles they have two pairs of wings the first set covers the abdomen while the second pair is a protective covering for both the first wings and stomach and for flying number 13. action beetle if even small insects make you squirm then the action beetle will have you leaping out of your chair it’s no ladybug that’s for sure the action beetle is a form of rhinoceros beetle that is one of the largest in its family it’s that large that even arachnophobes will be questioning whether they’d prefer a spider on their wall or this horned beetle of nightmares male action beetles can grow up to about 5.4 inches long while females tend to be slightly smaller at 4.7 inches they are also quite rotund measuring nearly three inches across the middle sure their size is terrifying but what about all their bits and pieces they have giant tarsal claws powerful legs and short little horns the male beetles also have an appendage on their head which resembles a horn too females naturally don’t have this if you don’t ever want to stumble across one of these then it might be easy enough to do if you don’t live in south america they can be found in venezuela brazil suriname guyana ecuador peru panama bolivia and neighboring areas number 12 giant wetta new zealand is a pretty peaceful country and as it turns out its animals are too maybe that’s the problem many animals that live there have no natural predators as a result they can grow to be enormous like the giant weta the giant letta is endemic to new zealand which means that it is only found there given their ability to cope with different temperatures they are happy to live in grasslands shrubbery gardens alpine regions forests and more basically where there’s land there could be a wetter left to frolic in the wilderness the giant huetta can grow in excess of 2.5 ounces this is particularly true of pregnant females that can be three times as heavy as a mouse and far heavier than a sparrow unfortunately or fortunately depending on whether you’re pro-giant insect or not the giant weta is a threatened species to come across one in the wild is a rare experience breeding programs to boost the population have been underway including at butterfly creek in south auckland under the weta recovery group’s guidance number 11 tarantula hawk even the name of this insect sounds terrifying we’re not going to sugarcoat it the tarantula hawk really is as bad as it sounds it’s a type of giant wasp that can grow up to around 2 inches long it’s dark blue with antennae and both the male and female variety have bright orange wings fortunately their vibrancy makes them stand out so that you can avoid being in contact with them and we’re not just being hurtful just because they’re such large insects they also have an extremely painful sting which they inflict on people and animals in every continent except for antarctica and europe fortunately males do not have a stinger but a female’s is around a quarter inch long and even though she’ll mostly use it when feeling threatened that doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s the second most painful sting of any insect tarantula hawks mainly live on flowers but they don’t get tarantula in their name for no reason adult females paralyze tarantulas with their stingers then drag them back to their nest they then lay eggs in the spider’s stomach before covering the nest entrance to stop the spider from escaping once the babies hatch the larva feed on the spider making sure not to dine on its organs so it stays alive until the larvae become adults number 10 giant burrowing cockroach if your loved ones don’t approve of a pet cat dog or goldfish then you might think there’s nothing else interesting left but you’d be wrong for there’s always the giant burrowing cockroach this huge cockroach which weighs over an ounce and measures nearly three inches is found in northern queensland australia they are the world’s heaviest cockroach and they live in permanent burrows so if you’re particularly squeamish about huge insects these ones are unlikely to be a problem they live for up to 10 years and you are allowed to have them as a pet they spend all day in deep soil burrows then come out at night to forage for dry leaves and food at any one time female cockroaches can have as many as 30 young in their burrows with them that may or may not be a terrifying thought if you come across a huge cockroach with stout spiny legs and a broad heavy body then you may have just spotted a giant burrowing cockroach you’ll be pleased to know that they mean you no harm number 9 water bug the insect called the water bug doesn’t sound all that harmful its name is almost playful in a sense but names can be deceiving which is definitely true in this case water bugs are found all over the world but the largest at about four inches long is located in south america but to even look at the largest species of a water bug you still won’t predict what this gigantic insect is capable of what if we were to tell you that they could tackle anything from turtles to ducklings to venomous snakes is injecting them with a paralyzing venom which is why it isn’t recommended to handle them the brown coloring of this insect allows it to lie in weight in bodies of water camouflaged from other animals passing by once something comes nearby the water bug snaps its front legs tightly then uses its other legs to capture its prey they quickly pierce the animal with their sharp feelers break down the tissue then suck it up scientists believe a type of anesthetic chemical might be in their feelers but they’re not quite sure what it is what we do know is these water bugs have a take no prisoners approach not even venomous snakes can get away from this aquatic insect number eight lobster the 6-inch long tree lobster almost wasn’t one of the biggest insects and it’s not because it wasn’t large enough to make the cut but because for many years it was thought to be extinct the tree lobster or the lord howe island stick insect as it’s also known is from a remote australian island a thriving population of them used to live on a small island around a century ago but a shipwreck in 1918 changed all that as the ship’s crew made it to the shores of this east coast australian island so too did its rats by 1983 the insect was thought to be extinct along with five bird species and twelve other insects due to rat overpopulation in 2001 researchers visited vol’s pyramid a volcanic rock island near lord howe island that once held remains of the stick insect instead of remains though they found living stick insects on a tea tree that sat 213 feet above sea level the following year a breeding program began at melbourne zoo it is now well and truly back from the dead even if it is on the critically endangered list number 7 chinese mantis stick insects are quite complicated insects they don’t exactly stand out from their surroundings but their size tells us that they should after all if you found an insect that grew up to over 4 inches you’d definitely notice it but that’s not quite the case with the chinese mantis sure it’s nearly an inch in diameter and over four inches long but it looks like a stick it can be between green and brown with stripes and it can appear black in low light if you are surrounded by branches and dozens of chinese mantises you might not be able to tell the difference between the two the chinese mantis is the largest of its kind in north america but it’s native to asia it was introduced to the united states by accident even though it looks like a stick this giant stick means business it can feast on hornets small reptiles frogs and hummingbirds it’s also not afraid to eat its own kind some studies have even found that in around half of chinese mantis matings there are instances of cannibalism number six titan beetle you don’t get called titan for being tiny so you won’t be surprised to learn that the titan beetle is one of the biggest insects in the world it’s also one of the largest known beetles in the amazon rainforest you’ll most likely find this beetle hanging out with his beetle mates in bolivia north central brazil colombia ecuador the goyanas and peru aside from their size which is around 6.5 inches there are some other unique things worth knowing about this critter they are fierce fighters if they get into a situation that requires them to defend themselves then they don’t hold back they have sharp spines and strong jaws and their mandibles are nothing to scoff at either in fact they’re capable of snapping a pencil clean in half or cutting into human flesh when mating time comes around it’s time to lay low literally they locate mates by flying through the air sensing pheromones and no one wants a face full of giant titan beetle so not only are they one of the largest insects in the world but the titan beetle is one that can definitely hold its own on the insect battlefield too number five atlas moth imagine seeing a moth so big that you could literally use its cocoon as a form of storage that’s the reality with the atlas moth one of the largest lepidopterans in the world the atlas moth’s wingspan measures up to 9.4 inches and covers a surface area of around 25 inches squared the only moths with a larger wing surface area and span are the atticus caesar white witch and hercules moths otherwise the atlas moth is at the top of the food chain it’s probably of no surprise then that it supposedly gets its name from atlas in greek mythology legend tells us that zeus condemned the titan atlas to hold the sky on his shoulders the name more than suits the moths colossal size these winged weapons are the size of birds and live across the malay archipelago as they are thought of as the largest moths in the world it’s not uncommon for people in taiwan to use their cocoons as purses after all why buy one when nature produces one for free they are also cultivated in india for their silk number four queen alexandra’s bird wing if you have lepidopterophobia the fear of butterflies then even looking at a monarch could be terrifying but it might be best to save your screaming for the queen alexandra’s birdwing because this creature is where all the fear is at this butterfly with a wingspan reaching nearly 10 inches is the largest butterfly species in the world it has a body length of about 3.1 inches and a body mass of about 0.42 ounces in every way shape and form these butterflies are astounding they live in the aura province of eastern papua new guinea and are thought to be in danger due to habitat destruction given their rarity they’re sold for thousands of dollars on the black market albert stewart meek was the first to discover this massive butterfly in 1906 and it received its name the following year in honor of alexandra of denmark but enough about its history how are you supposed to spot this amazing butterfly in the wild well its size is going to be a dead giveaway but there are other attributes too females have brown wings with white markings along with yellow triangles on the hind wings males on the other hand are bluish green with a black band and a bright yellow abdomen number three the goliath bird eater if you’re scared of spiders you’ve been warned you can’t expect us to focus on the biggest insects ever found and not mention a spider-like insect right the goliath bird eater certainly fits into that category this tarantula is the largest arachnid in the world this is the largest species of spider and nothing even comes close it can weigh up to 6 ounces and has a leg span of nearly one foot imagine that walking across your face while you’re trying to sleep while the name goliath bird eater makes it sound like this tarantula feasts on your feathery little friends that is rarely the case they can eat birds they just prefer not to the name comes from an engraving from the 18th century that showed another type of tarantula eating a hummingbird instead the goliath bird eater prefers to eat frogs insects and rodents in the amazon in northern south america when they find food they like they pounce on them and produce their inch-long fangs that pump neurotoxins into their body the dying animal is then dragged back to the tarantulas burrow to undertake the digestion process as they can’t eat solid food they liquefy their snack before sucking the body dry number two macrodontia cervicornus the macrodontia servicornis or sabertooth longhorn beetle is undeniably one of the largest beetles in the world just look at it from its huge legs and jaws to the giant horns and body there’s certainly nothing small about this beetle if you measured the longest saber-tooth longhorn beetle from top to toe including its jaw it would measure a whopping 6.9 inches but even without those extra measurements the longest known beetle was still over 6.6 inches they live in the rainforests around south america and stand out with their striking brown color scheme okay so this beetle’s size and color make it pretty impressive but there’s one feature left that will blow your mind imagine this for a scenario you spend 10 years as an infant 10 long years then you grow up to be an adult and in a three-month period you have to mate reproduce and mature then you die that’s the reality for the saber-tooth longhorn beetle a decade as a baby three months as an adult then death the largest insects in the world sure have it tough number one friginistria chinensis chow stick insects are pretty long that’s a fact but if we’re gonna name insects based on what they look like then this stick insect should be called a branch insect it’s absolutely enormous the phrygia chinensis chao insect which was named after the person who found it was discovered in 2014. scientists had been on a field trip to the guanxi chuang region when they made the monumental discovery chao li from the insect museum of west china discovered it after having looked for it for years he had been hearing reports of an insect as thick as an adult’s finger so he had always been curious when he finally found it he had been collecting insects on a mountain in leo cho city when he saw what looked like a tree twig shadow in the distance as he approached he realized it was an insect and that its legs were as long as its body when he took the insect back to the museum it laid six eggs given that the smallest of the brood measured 10 inches there may be even longer stick insects out there just waiting to be discovered well sweet dreams everyone this was just a snapshot a mere glance at the largest insects in the world do they make you want to check every nook and crevice in your home have you seen any of these in person also check out our other cool stuff showing up on screen right now see you next time
15 Biggest Insects Ever Found In The World
