The Largest Insects Ever Discovered

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]What if I told you that some insects are bigger than birds, heavier than small mammals, and once ruled the skies like monsters from a science fiction movie?

[00:00:09]Imagine seeing a dragonfly with wings almost as wide as an eagle. Get ready to discover the true giants of the insect kingdom. The giant Chinese stick insect holds the record as the longest insect in the world. Its body can grow up to 64 cm long. This incredible insect was discovered in China in 2014 in the Guangshi province. Its long and thin body helps it blend perfectly with branches and trees, making it almost invisible in forests. Even though its appearance may look strange or frightening, the insect is actually peaceful and harmless.

[00:00:48]Hercules moth. The Hercules moth is one of the largest moths in the world and one of the most impressive insects ever discovered. Its wingspan can reach 27 cm, which is even wider than the wings of a canary bird that measures around 21 cm. The surface area of its wings is enormous, reaching nearly 300 square cm.

[00:01:10]To imagine this size, one single wing is almost equal to the size of three iPhones placed together. Despite its massive appearance, the Hercules moth is completely harmless and very calm. Its huge wings help it glide gracefully through forests at night, making it look more like a flying creature from a fantasy movie than a real insect. The heaviest insect on Earth, the giant weda is known as the heaviest insect in the world. It lives in New Zealand on a small island called Little Barrier Island. This enormous insect can weigh around 71 g, which is even heavier than a desert jerboa that weighs about 57 g.

[00:01:49]Long before humans existed, the skies were ruled by a giant insect called Megura. This prehistoric dragonfly lived around 275 million years ago during a time when Earth's atmosphere contained much more oxygen than today. Megura had an incredible wingspan of nearly 75 cm, making it almost as wide as a modern eagle. It also weighed close to half a kilog, which is enormous for an insect.

[00:02:17]With its massive wings and powerful body, Megura was one of the top predators of its era. How many insects exist on Earth? Scientists estimate that there are nearly 10 quintilion insects alive on Earth. To understand how massive this number is, think about this sequence. Million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, and finally quintilion.

[00:02:41]This means that for every single human on Earth, there are around 1.25 billion insects.

[00:02:47]The incredible weight of insects. Even though most insects are tiny, their combined weight is absolutely shocking.

[00:02:55]If we assume the average insect weighs only 0.001 g, the total weight of all insects on Earth would reach nearly 10 billion tons. To visualize this impossible number, that weight is equal to almost 1 million Eiffel Towers combined.

[00:03:11]Meanwhile, the total weight of all 8 billion humans on Earth is estimated at around 350 million tons. That means humanity makes up only about 3.5% of the total insect biomass on the planet.