Patricia Holden MD|

I was reorganizing and redesigning my daughter’s room this weekend when I found a widow spider in one of the boxes that were left in her room. My daughter, scared of insects, held on to me while I tried to capture the spider and throw it outside. Anyway, if you read my earlier post, you would know that widow spiders are venomous so I tried to avoid hurting it in fear of being bitten. Good thing it was pretty small so I had a rather easy time putting it in a small plastic bag.

They can be quite scary, even with their size. You might have seen people scramble just to kill one cockroach, or a spider. Now imagine some of them being as large as your palm. Here are 7 of the largest insects and spiders that still exists.

Giant Burrowing Cockroach - These can be found in Australia. They can reach up to 3 inches in length and weigh 35 g. They don’t have wings and they usually feed on leaves. They can also burrow 1 meter below the ground and set up a home of their own. Some people actually keep them as pets.

Giant Cockroach - These can be found in Panama and Northern South America. Their length can reach up to 3.5 inches but not as heavy as the giant burrowing cockroach.

Goliath Bird Eater - The largest spider in the world and can be found in Northern South America. It got its name when explorers found one eating a humming bird. They can reach up to 1 ft and can weigh up to over 100 grams. The females generally have a longer life span than the males. They feed mostly on smaller insects, mice, lizards, and amphibians.

Giant Indian Black Scorpion - The currently known largest scorpion. Like it’s namesake, it can be found in India. It can reach to almost 1 ft in length and can weigh to as much as 57 grams.

Amazonian Giant Centipede - Can be found in North and West South America, these can reach up to 13 inches in length. They are known to prey on bats, lizards, birds, and mice. Their venom can cause chills, fever, and sever swelling on humans but is unlikely to be fatal.

Titan Beetle - One of the largest insects in the world and can be found in South America. They can reach a length of up to 6.5 inches or 8 inches with the antenna. They are reported to be able to snap pencils in half using their mandibles.

Stick Insect - The largest known stick insect according to body length is the Phobaeticus kirbyi, which can be found in Borneo. It’s body reaches up to 13 inches but when extended, it can reach up to 21 inches in length. The longest when extended is the Pharnacia serratipes, which can reach a length of 555 mm or 21.9 inches.

BONUS

I just read an article about a beetle that had survived a a two-week journey from Britain to Costa Rica. The Elephant Beetle had a length of around 5 inches (smaller than the titan beetle) and weighed around 35 grams. Read the article here.