The largest and smallest insects

In terms of weight, the heaviest insect in the world is the giant rhinoceros beetle of tropical America (Coleoptera, family Rhinoptera). This rhinoceros beetle is 155 mm long from the protrusion of its head to the end of its abdomen, and its body is 100 mm wide, making it larger than the largest goose egg. Its weight is about 100 grams, which is equivalent to the weight of two eggs. In addition, a long beetle from Brazil (order Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) is also more than 150 mm long. But in terms of body length, the longest insect is a stick insect living in the Malay Peninsula. Its body length is 270 mm, which is longer than a pencil.

The smallest and lightest insect in the world is Alaptus magnonimus Annandale, an egg wasp of the family Mymaridae, with a body length of only 0.21 mm and an extremely light weight of only 0.005 mg. Calculating this, 200,000 eggs weigh only 1 gram, and 10 million eggs weigh as much as an egg.

animal tags： Coleoptera