The vast majority of people are of the opinion that insects must be small. This is due to some features of these creatures that do not allow them to grow to enormous sizes.
But, nevertheless, some beetles (and not only) destroy stereotypes and reach impressive sizes, to put it mildly. Below, you have the opportunity to see a list of the five largest beetles in the world.
The five of the largest beetles in the world opens with the famous stag beetle, known for all its large antler-like horns. It lives in Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the northern part of America. Although its habitat is large enough, this animal is listed in the Red Book in many countries and is protected by law. The body length of an adult reaches ten and a half centimeters, taking into account the horn. But, in most cases, their growth is not more than 8 centimeters. The beetle itself lives all season, and its larva develops in the roots of trees for eight years.
Due to the constant capture of beetles by collectors, they simply do not have time to breed properly. Another sad factor that causes beetles to die out is excessive deforestation. Adult insects feed on tree sap, especially like oak sap. Color - dark paws and head and dark brown or brown elytra, chest and head.The female of this beetle does not have large horns and is noticeably smaller than the male in body size.
The heaviest beetle in the world
Continues the list of goliath beetle, which also has the title of one of the hardest beetles in the world. His height reaches twelve centimeters, while the weight can be 80-100 grams. Habitat - Central and Southeastern parts of Africa. The adult beetle lives about six months. At the same time, he actively eats ripe fruits and sap of some trees.
Goliath larvae living underground eat humus and fallen leaves of trees. The color of the beetle is black and white with drawings that are diverse, depending on the subspecies of the insect. A special feature of these bugs is that during the flight, the elytra do not open. When the wings unfold, they remain folded on the back. But, this does not affect the quality of flight, due to special troughs located on the back of the beetle.
Hercules beetle - third place
Hercules occupies the third place in body size. This beetle is an inhabitant of the territories of South America. The length of his body reaches seventeen centimeters. But, this is taking into account the long horn, which is almost half the length of the body. In the wingspan, these insects reach 20 centimeters. And by weight they are catching up with the representatives of the first place of this rating.
The color of the horn, head and legs is black. And the elytra can be brown, red or yellowish in color, and often with spots. The horn is located on the head of the beetle and it is a hallmark of males, but the females do not. The body length of females varies from 8 to 10 centimeters.Such handsome men live no more than six months.
The second nominee belongs to the family of barbel and is called the deer-like coarse tooth. This is a very beautiful and spectacular bug. The chest, head and paws of an adult are black, sometimes turning into a dark brown and burgundy color. Elytra have decoration in the form of black drawings, similar to complex labyrinths. And the elytra themselves are painted in yellowish-brown colors.
What maximum size an insect can reach is not known reliably. So far, the length of the largest beetle caught has been 16.5 centimeters. This is not considering the length of its antennae and mandibles, which are also quite long. There are such instances, too, in South America. This species is poorly understood.
The largest beetle in the world
The leader is the representative of insects, which can reach twenty centimeters in length and this is only his body. If we also take into account the antennae, which are also about 20 cm long, we get an impressive length. This beetle is called titanium woodcutter and it is recognized as the largest on the planet. It is found in most parts of South America, but it is so rare that it is almost impossible to see it.
In this connection, the species of this beetle is very poorly studied by scientists and so far very little information is known about it. Body color is dark brown and plain. An adult lives from 3 to 5 weeks. During this period, the beetle does not eat anything, but only engages in mating games and leaves offspring.
Larvae should develop much longer (how much is not yet known).It is not known what larvae feed on during their growth. Not a single entomologist has been lucky enough to find the larvae of this specimen. There are no other bugs in the world that are related to the woodcutter titan. Therefore, he is truly a unique and extraordinary representative of the class of insects. Both scientists and private collectors are hunting for him.
