Giant Burrowing Cockroach Australia is covered in all sorts of poisonous snakes and spiders (and non-poisonous sharks!), but did you know they're also known for the largest cockroach in the world? New York City may provide a home for a few that can contest its size, but the giant burrowing cockroach – also known as the rhinoceros cockroach or the litter bug – can weigh a humongous 35 grams and measure up to 3.2 inches!
Unlike other cockroaches, it doesn't have any wings and isn't considered to be a pest, as it plays an important role in the ecosystem by breaking down dead leaves and recycling other matter.
True to their name, they do burrow into the earth to make permanent homes for themselves. The male is distinguished by its “scoop” as the female isn't born with one but depending on whether you're one of the few that owns them as pets, it can be hard to distinguish their gender when they're young. They grow by shedding their outer shells (we know, gross) and they do so 12 to 13 times before reaching their full size.
Elephant Beetle Contrary to belief, the elephant beetle cannot in fact take down an entire elephant. Even though they range between 2.8-4.7 inches in size, their diet mainly consists of the sap of specific trees and fallen ripened fruit such as pineapples. They also ingest longan, lychee fruit and bark from certain trees such as poinciana which is native to various islands in the Caribbean and the continent of South America.
They're commonly found in places such as Mexico and Venezuela because they live in rainforests and are able to maintain high body temperatures at night when the temperature decreases.
One of the most interesting bits of info about the elephant beetle is that they're black in colour and are covered by a coat of microscopic hairs. The fine hairs grow particularly thick on their hardened fore-wing and it's why their bodies give off a yellow-ish colour that makes them almost unrecognizable in their habitat.
Believe it or not, researchers at the University of California – Berkeley actually took advantage of that trait by conducting a military project where they implanted electrodes into the beetle's pupa to gain remote control of their flying behaviour.
Giant Long-Legged Katydid According to some experts, giant long-legged katydids are said to be the largest insect in the world. The family they belong to – the Tettigoniidae family – actually contains over 6,400 species and are known by some as long-horned grasshoppers even though they're much more closely related to crickets.
They look like “massive walking leaves” because they can grow up to 5.9 inches in length and, like all katydids, their antennae can exceed their own body length. That may make them appear to be the kind of creatures that can kidnap small children but the giant katydid are actually quite gentle.
Their natural habitat is in the heart of forests and mountain slopes in Malaysia where their large leaf-like wings help them camouflage and steer away from predators. During the daytime, they're usually inactive but can be seen staying still upon leaves and bushes are they mainly eat vegetation. In some cases, the giant katydid is found to be predatory as they devour smaller bugs and insects – luckily for us, that doesn't humans aren't appetizing to them.
Giant Camel Spiders Though they look nothing like the spiders in “Eight Legged Freaks”, the giant camel spider definitely looks as if it was ripped straight from a science-fiction film from the early 2000s'.
Also known as solifugae, they are a different order from true spiders though they have two chelicerae that act as jaws and are used to produce sound. Most species live in deserts located in the Middle East and feed occasionally on ground-dwelling arthropods and other small animals.
Some species of the giant camel spider are known to grow to a gigantic length of 150 mm (6 inches) but their size has been regularly exaggerated by urban legends that also state they're a danger to humans (they're not). Other exaggerations include appetite and speed, but they are fast on land compared to other invertebrates as their top speed has been estimated to be 10 miles per hour.
Thankfully, these kinds of spiders have no venom and there's no way a human can get stuck in a giant-sized net as they do not spin webs.
Japanese Giant Hornet The Japanese giant hornet, native to Tokyo, is a hornet that's practically the size of your thumb and has a wingspan that's larger than a hummingbird's! A single one of these insects can inject a lethal sting that can be fatal to an adult, especially if there's an allergic reaction.
As they're perhaps the world's most dangerous insect, their venom is much more potent than those found in wasps, bees and other hornet species, and their stinger is a 1/4 inch long, which is the size of the tip of a pencil!
Cases have compared the pain of a sting to experiencing “a hot nail being driven through your leg”, and to make matters worse, it consists of cytolytic peptide, which can literally tear apart cell tissues. The only common advice known to man that can be useful in avoiding the Japanese giant hornet is to not wear black as anything as big as a shirt can increase the chances of you being a target.
Atlas Moth Moths often get a bad rap thanks to horror films and that doesn't present a great case for the largest one known to scientists. The atlas moth, also known as the Attacus atlas, ranks as the globe's largest moth when measured according to the surface area covered by its wings. It isn't the largest creature in terms of wingspan – the white witch moth has a record wingspan of 11 inches – but since it measures 9.8 to 11.8 inches from the tip of one wing to another, it's definitely one of the biggest that can be found in the wild.
One of the major reasons their numbers are practically unknown is because the atlas moth only lives about two weeks as an adult moth. Adults don't have fully developed mouths so they cannot eat, and during their adulthood, they're destined to avoid predators, mate, and lay eggs to ensure there will be another generation that follows their footsteps.
They are indigenous to southern China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, and the number one tool they have at their disposal to avoid predators in those areas is their colourful wings. In fact, the wingtips on most males are thought by some to resemble the heads of snakes which is proven to be a beneficial defense mechanism in tropical and sub-tropical forests.
Giant Walking Stick Everyone has had a run-in with a walking stick at least once, and though they're practically harmless, the encounter has always been horrifying. The stick insects are the longest insects on the planet and they've evolved to such a bizarre shape that it allows them to hide from predators among branches and foliage.
The giant walking stick from Southeast Asia is the longest in its species as it can grow to about two feet in length. In fact, the longest one ever recorded was found living in the rainforests of Borneo and it was reportedly well over 20 inches!
They're predominantly found in the tropics and subtropics and stick insects thrive in forests and grasslands where they feed on leaves. As nocturnal creatures, they spend most of their day hidden under plants and they are commonly known to feign death to thwart predators.
Very little is known about the walking stick which makes it difficult to pinpoint the vulnerability of their status in the wild. Their only major threats at this current time are the pet trade and the popular practice of framing insect carcasses, like butterflies.
Tarantula Hawk Yes, this thing takes down freakin' tarantulas! Oblivious to most, several species of wasps known as “tarantula hawks” live in deserts in the United States, and although they are the state insect of New Mexico, not many know that they're a dangerous insect.
Compared to other wasps, tarantula hawks are rather robust as their bodies can measure up to two inches in length. The insects are metallic blue/back with wings that are either blue/black orange-ish or mahogany in colour, and they're one of the few insects that have aposematic colouring which warns potential predators that they may not be a meal worth fighting for.
Luckily for them, there are only a few animals, such as roadrunners, that will attack their species and it's part of the reason why they're considered to be the predator in most situations. Like all members of their genus, they require a spider to serve as a host for their larvae and tarantulas are their preferred “nursery”. They “capture” the spiders by using their sting which is considered to be the most painful of any North American insect. The sting isn't exactly lethal but it ranks high next to bees and ants as researchers have described it to be an electric shock that induces an immediate and excruciating pain that simply shuts down your ability to do anything.
Giant Isopod In all fairness, the giant isopod does look like a pet that those "Predator" creatures would own, and its appearance is only one reason as to why its on this list. They're the largest known members of the isopod family, a group of crustaceans closely related to crabs and shrimps, and though they're not usually fished commercially, they can be found in restaurants in northern Taiwan, where they're boiled and served as food.
The giant isopod can grow to a length of over 16 inches and its enormous size is due to the phenomenon known as deep sea gigantism. This is the prospective tendency that deep sea crustaceans and other animals grow to a much larger size in shallower waters to deal with enormous pressures.
Unlike the species they're related to, the giant isopod is carnivorous crustacean that scavenges the deep sea floor in search of food. Since its extremely scarce at these depths, the isopod is forced to adapt to eat whatever it can which includes the bodies of dead whales, fish, squid, sponges and sea cucumbers. They can also go long periods of time without eating as its humongous (and frightening) kind has been known to survive over eight weeks without eating food when kept in captivity.
Chinese Mantis Thanks to pop culture, the praying mantis has always been displayed as a cool insect but their appeal can instantly change when they look abnormally gigantic. The Chinese mantis looks long and slender like its close relative but its typically longer than most praying mantises as it reaches just over 4.3 inches in length.
Native to China, they are the largest mantis species in North America – found throughout southern New England and the northeast side of the United States – and their colour can vary from green to brown with a green lateral stripe on the edge of their front wings. Their diet mainly consists of other insects and some adult females can take down small vertebrate prey such as reptiles, amphibians and hummingbirds.
Like other mantids, they're also known to be cannibalistic but that isn't their scariest feature. When it comes to reproduction, the female can produce several spherical ootheca that contain up to 400 eggs! When you think about it, that's a lot of Chinese mantids to occupy one specific habitat.
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Defining royalty, this massive beast of a butterfly was named to honour Queen Alexandra, the Danish wife of King Edward VII of England in the 1800s' and to date, it's the biggest of its species. It has a wingspan of up to 1 ft wide, and though its native to the lowland coastal rainforest in New Guinea, it's actually on the US Endangered Species List because its habitat is being reduced due to the construction of oil palm plantations.
Like other butterflies, it goes through a complete metamorphosis that involves four stages (egg-caterpillar-pupa-adult) and its diet changes with each life stage. Its first meal is its own eggshell and after that, the caterpillars eat the pipevine plant until they can only sip liquid food once they start their adult form.
The most interesting tidbit about the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is that it's actually a poisonous butterfly. It obtains its poison from the toxic pipevine plant it consumes, and though its bright colour patterns warn incoming predators, other animals will only get sick from consuming the butterfly, and in most cases, won't die.
Giant Weta In the world of unusual animals, the largest are often the most popular. Such is the case with the giant weta as they've become icons for the invertebrate conservation in New Zealand because many of them are threatened or endangered, including over 70 related species where 16 are at risk.
Many of the giant species now only survive on protected land, and though they were once considered extinct, they were rediscovered in a patch of King Country gorse in 1962. The Department Of Conservation staff have since a established a new population of them on Mahurangi Island, off the Coromandel coast, and two hundred of them have been transferred there over the years for breeding.
Though they do look like little carnivores that could take down prey their size, giant weta are primarily herbivorous in the wild (outside of eating other insects) and are nocturnal creatures that live in a variety of habitats including grassland, forests and caves. Currently, the enormous insects can only be on offshore islands surrounding New Zealand and very little is known about their exact existence.
Giant Water Bug If you needed another reason to be afraid of the water, this is it. The giant water bug is one of the largest insects in both the United States and Canada as it's approximately 1.5 inches in length, and some species can grow as long as 4 inches!
It is commonly mistaken for a beetle or even a cockroach but the monstrous bugs prefer habitats that are surrounded by freshwater streams, ponds, and aquatic vegetation. The most interesting aspect about this bug (that actually isn't from outer space) is the techniques they use to capture prey. With their powerful front longs, they have the ability to grab other bugs and animals as big as small fish, frogs and salamanders. They pierce their food with their sharp beaks and secrete enzymes that dissolve body tissues, allowing them to suck up the resulting liquid.
Though they're not really dangerous to humans, the giant water bug can deliver a nasty bite. Some have even described their bite as a very painful experience as cases have showed one can cause a finger or a whole hand to swell up dramatically, almost to the point where they lose control and function of their hand for up to two weeks. Our advice: avoid these little (but big) guys at all costs!
Goliath Birdeater The goliath birdeater, as it name implies, is a type of tarantula that's definitely large enough to eat an actual bird. This giant spider is found mainly in the northern regions of South American countries such as Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela, and its habitat is usually a wet swamp or a marsh within a rainforest. As the world's largest species of tarantula, it has a leg span of 12 inches and is about the size of a dinner plate. Like most spiders, they lack antennae and their eyesight is extremely weak even though they have eight eyes and can rely on sensory hairs to feel even the slightest vibrations on the ground and in the air.
Compared to their relatives, the goliath birdeaters are considered to be very aggressive which doesn't bode well with predators. They're fully capable of making a hissing noise to frighten off threats and their two fangs have poison glands at their base, which can cause severe pain, nausea and sweating.
Its venom solely attacks the nervous system and is used to paralyze its victims, not kill. The life expectancy for a male goliath is only about a year or less after mating while a female can live up to 25 years and regrow any limbs they might lose along the way!
15 Titan Beetle Simply put, the titanus giganteus is the largest beetle in the world (and we don't mean Paul McCartney). The beetle is said to be larger than some small adult Chihuahuas, and the largest recorded specimen was measured in at 6.6 inches long.
Despite their gargantuan size, large jaws of death, incredibly sharp spines and their ability to fly, the titan is actually quite harmless to humans. They live in seclusion in some of the world's hottest tropical jungles, including French Guiana and Brazil, and are often found recycling decaying wood below the earth's surface.
Like most inhabitants of the rainforest, the beetle is primarily threatened by the destruction of its home due to timber and agriculture expositions and has seen its population decrease over the past few years. They take years to mature and grow to their full size, and when the adults finally emerge, they seek out a mate during the hottest time of year and die shortly after in just a few weeks. Their larvae on the other hand have never been found but are thought to feed inside wood as part of their growing cycle.
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