What is the heaviest insect in the world?

Answer 1

From Link 1 :

The largest living insect species, by virtue of having the greatest visible body mass and probably weight, are the giant scarabs, Goliathus goliatus, Goliathus regius, Megasoma elephas, Megasoma actaeon, and the immense cerambycid, Titanus giganteus. No clear winner can be declared on the basis of objective data, the candidates being nearly equal in this regard, but a visual comparison of all of them, side by side and scaled to maximum known size, may convince one otherwise. The heaviest weight reliably reported for any insect is 71 grams for the protected giant weta, Deinacrida heteracantha, of New Zealand.


From Link 2 :

The Heaviest Insect: A Goliath Beetle from tropical Africa, weights in at 3 1/2 ounces.

The Heaviest Water Insect: The Giant Water Bug of South America, tips the scales at nearly two ounces.

Answer 2

There are several different ways of measuring the size of an insect, most people would consider the largest insect to be the bulkiest, in this case the champion insect is the Acteon Beetle (Megasoma acteon) from South America the males of which can be 9cms long by 5cms wide by 4cms thick, however there is a serious challange for heaviest insect in the world in the form of the True Wetas from New Zealand. For instance a gravid female Deinacrida heteracantha can weigh as much as 70 grams.

Another competitor for the title is the extemely rare South American Longhorn Beetle Titanus giganteus, these giants can have a body length (not including antennae) of over 16cms (6.5 ins), other longhorn beetles are nearly as large and may look even bigger because of their longer legs i.e. Xixuthrus heros from Fiji. Another beetle, Dynastes hercules is also well known for reaching 16cms in length, though it is not nearly a heavy.

However other insects are larger in other ways, the longest insect in the world is the Stick-Insect Pharnacia kirbyi, the females of which can be over 36cm long. Some living lepidoptera have wingspans as great as 32cm and an area of over 300 square cms.

Answer 3

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Subfamily: Cetoniinae
Genus: Goliathus
All Goliathus species are native to Africa. They are primarily tropical, although one species, G albosignatus, is localized in the more temperate southeastern portion of Africa. It is in the continent's equatorial rain forests that the Goliath beetles have reached their greatest diversity.The female Goliathus lays its eggs in the moist, decomposing wood of the dead rain forest trees. Goliathus larvae are somewhat unusual among cetoniine scarabs in the they have a greater preference for high protein foods than do those of most other genera. Pellets of dry or soft dog or cat food (buried in the rearing substrate once or twice weekly) provide a suitable diet for Goliathus larvae in captivity. However, a substrate of somewhat moistened, decayed leaves and wood should still be provided in order to create a suitable medium for larval growth. The larvae will also eat some of this material. Even under optimum conditions, the larvae take a number of months to mature fully because of the great size they attain. They are capable of growing up to 150mm in length, and reaching weights in excess of 100 grams. When maximum size is reached, the larva constructs a rather thin walled, hardened cell of surrounding materials in which it will undergo metamorphosis (pupation) to the adult state. Once building of this cocoon is completed, the larva transforms to the pupal stage, which is an intermediate phase between the larval and adult stages. During the pupal duration, the insect's tissues are broken down and re-organized into the form of the adult beetle. Once metamorphosis is complete, the adult Goliathus beetle sheds its pupal skin, breaks open its cocoon, locates a mate, and the entire life cycle starts over again. The adult beetles feed on materials rich in sugar, especially fruit and tree sap. Under captive conditions, adults can live for about a year after emerging from their pupal cells. Longevity in the wild is likely shorter on average due to factors such as predators. The adult phase concentrates solely on reproduction, and once this function is performed, the time of the adult beetle is limited. The same is true for the vast majority of other insect species.

GOOD LUCK !

Answer 4

It's the Goliath Beetle, native to Africa, which can attain a weight of 3 1/2 ounces. Its length can reach 4 1/2 inches, and while there are larger insects in terms of size, it's the reigning champ as far as weight goes.

Answer 5

I'm not sure but the heaviset beetle could be the heaviest insecdt int the world and that is the Goliath beetle

Answer 6

I was going to say the goliath beetle but there are some centipedes that are really long, I wonder if some of them wouldn't be heavier.

Answer 7

Saddam Hussain..

Answer 8

A Gi-ant

Answer 9

Surely it's an Eleph Ant?!!!!!

Answer 10

Maybe...a tarantula??