# The largest insects in the world

Beetles the size of a hand, a stick insect over half a metre long and a moth with 25-centimetre wings: the planet's giant insects. Which one gives you the creeps?

- 18 votes · 13 items
- Jun 6, 2025 · Juliana Lopes
- https://even.best/en/l/2891/the-largest-insects-in-the-world

## Top 13

1. **Titan beetle** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Up to 16 centimetres, with jaws that can cut skin.
2. **Atlas moth** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Wings up to 25 centimetres with snake-like patterns.
3. **Queen Alexandra's birdwing** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — The largest butterfly in the world, endangered.
4. **Giant stick insect** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — The longest insect in the world, over half a metre.
5. **Goliath beetle** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Its larvae can weigh up to 100 grams.
6. **Tarantula hawk** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — One of the most painful stings in the world.
7. **Giant water bug** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Up to 11 centimetres, with a venomous bite.
8. **Mydas fly** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — It mimics wasps to scare off predators.
9. **Giant red-winged grasshopper** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — It flashes red wings in flight.
10. **Hercules beetle** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Males use huge horns to fight.
11. **Elephant beetle** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Horned males, larger than the females.
12. **Giant wētā** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — The heaviest insect: more than a mouse.
13. **Chinese mantis** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — It hunts grasshoppers and other large insects.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.