When you think of insects, most people think of tiny flies or buzzing bees. But not all insects are small. Some of them are massive! The longest insect in the world is one of a newly-discovered species of stick insect called “Chan’s megastick”. At 56 centimetres, as long as your arm, it set a new
When you think of insects, most people think of tiny flies or buzzing bees. But not all insects are small. Some of them are massive!
The longest insect in the world is one of a newly-discovered species of stick insect called “Chan’s megastick”. At 56 centimetres, as long as your arm, it set a new world record and can now be seen at the Natural History Museum in London. If you look closely at it, you can see a hole in its back where scientists removed some eggs to study!
While there are over 3000 known species of stick insect, only three of this kind of stick insect have ever been found. The stick insect lives in the branches of trees in the rainforests of Borneo, feeding on the tasty leaves and blending in with the twigs on the branch to hide from any predators that might want to make a meal of it.
Chan’s megastick isn’t just the longest insect ever found, its eggs are also really remarkable. When a female lays her eggs, they drop to the ground below. But each egg is flattened out, with wings on either side that may help the eggs scatter and glide to safety!
Scientists don’t know much about Chan’s megasticks yet, because they live so high in the canopy of the rainforest that they’ve only just been discovered. Who knows what other incredible insects might be hiding up there!
Leave a Reply