Graphic showing the largest living and extinct insects, from top to bottom, left column: actaeon beetle, Coscinocera hercules, Homoioptera gigantea, titan beetle and Gigatitan similis, central column: Mazothairos enormis, Eurycnema versirubra, Meganeuropsis permiana and Phryganistria sp., right column: Clatrotitan scullyi, Kalligramma haeckeli, Bojophlebia prokopi, Arachnacris tenuipes and Thysania agrippina
Insects, which are a type of arthropod, are the most numerous group of multicellular organisms on the planet, with over a million species identified so far.[1] The title of heaviest insect in the world has many contenders, the most frequently crowned of which is the larval stage of the goliath beetle, Goliathus goliatus, the maximum size of which is at least 115 g (4.1 oz) and 11.5 cm (4.5 in). The highest confirmed weight of an adult insect is 71 g (2.5 oz) for a giant weta, Deinacrida heteracantha,[2] although it is likely one of the elephant beetles, Megasoma elephas and Megasoma actaeon, or goliath beetles, both of which can commonly exceed 50 g (1.8 oz) and 10 cm (3.9 in), can reach a greater weight.[2]
The longest insects are the stick insects, see below.
Representatives of the extinct dragonfly-like order Meganisoptera (also known as griffinflies) such as the Carboniferous Meganeura monyi and the Permian Meganeuropsis permiana are the largest insect species ever known. These creatures had a wingspan of some 71 cm (28 in). Their maximum body mass is uncertain, with estimates varying between 34 g[3] and 210 g.[4]
^Zhang Z-Q, ed. (2011) Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-Level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness. Auckland, N. Z.: Magnolia Press
^ abWilliams, David M (2001-04-21). "Chapter 30 — Largest Insect". Book of Insect Records. University of Florida. Archived from the original on 2014-08-20.
^Dorrington, Graham E. (2016-04-01). "Heavily loaded flight and limits to the maximum size of dragonflies (Anisoptera) and griffenflies (Meganisoptera)". Lethaia. 49 (2): 261–274. doi:10.1111/let.12144. ISSN 1502-3931.
^Polet, Delyle (2011-05-06). "The Biggest Bugs: An investigation into the factors controlling the maximum size of insects". Eureka. 2 (1): 43–46. doi:10.29173/eureka10299. ISSN 1923-1520.
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