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World's largest flying aquatic insect has been discovered in China!
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SparklySwede
11-08-2014
Oh good grief, I have a horrible fear of moths and any large flying insects really, if something like that came near me I think I'd just have a total meltdown!

As it stands they're nowhere near me so I'm safe and will say that in spite of my fear of them, I am pleased to hear of new species being discovered and it does seem to be a fairly interesting species in this case too!
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by MTUK1:
“We have our own big critters.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...elicopter.html

8" dragonfly's in the UK this summer.”

Unfortunately that article is total cobblers - there is no living dragonfly in the world that is anywhere near 8 inches long and the largest british species is the Emperor.

http://www.arkive.org/emperor-dragonfly/anax-imperator/

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/emperor-dragonfly

Perhaps it was a misprint for 8cm which is about the right length for the above species.
MTUK1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“Unfortunately that article is total cobblers - there is no living dragonfly in the world that is anywhere near 8 inches long.

Perhaps it was a misprint for 8cm which is a bit more believable. ”

It doesn't look 8CM to me. It might not be 8" though you're right but it's much bigger than normal.
Tourista
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by MTUK1:
“We have our own big critters.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...elicopter.html

8" dragonfly's in the UK this summer.”

Haven't had one that big, but have been happy to see quite a few Dragonflies these last few years, whereas in the 90's it seemed that they had all gone as nary a one to be seen anywhere.

Does make sense though, as the article on the monstrous Chinese example states that Dragonflies are indicative of healthy clean water quality, and our local "stream" while it has its share of ASDA trollies, is far cleaner than even 5 yrs ago.
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by MTUK1:
“It doesn't look 8CM to me. It might not be 8" though you're right but it's much bigger than normal.”

It does look very large but photos like that can be deceptive.

The largest British species are actually not that much smaller than the largest in the world -possibly the Giant Petaltail (Petalura ingentissima) which has a 16 cm wingspan.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AiHL6WpaVn...2009+(218).JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/__7u_IlT6BIE/Tc...jpg?imgmax=800

http://www.british-dragonflies.org.u...sked-questions
MTUK1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“It does look very large but photos like that can be deceptive.

The largest British species are actually not that much smaller than the largest in the world -possibly the Giant Petaltail (Petalura ingentissima) which has a 16 cm wingspan.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AiHL6WpaVn...2009+(218).JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/__7u_IlT6BIE/Tc...jpg?imgmax=800

http://www.british-dragonflies.org.u...sked-questions”

16cm is just over 6" so that is quite large.
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by MTUK1:
“16cm is just over 6" so that is quite large.”

Yes dragonflies are very impressive insects and as far as aerobatic ability goes they are just incredible.

But the prehistoric 'griffinflys' such as the gigantic Meganeuropsis sp. (43cm long with a wingspan of over 70 cm) would really kick some ass if they were alive today.

http://www.ged.rwth-aachen.de/Ww/peo...s_fliegend.jpg

http://www.equalparenting-bc.ca/imag...kraus-w440.jpg

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/...t/d3059924.jpg
anne_666
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“I think I have found the 35cm (total length 43 cm) monster Ann and what a real beauty she is - just look at the sheer width of her body!

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9755/sgigantea4kp2.jpg

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3056/sgigantea5pi6.jpg

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8...gantea1yf4.jpg

This is another huge animal.

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/20...us-d38caow.jpg

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...us-d38cang.jpg

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...us-d39e69k.jpg”

Aren't they beautiful!
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by anne_666:
“Aren't they beautiful!”

They are now a very popular pet although you would have to be a real expert to handle one because of their incredibly powerful bite.

There are numerous gigantic species of the Scolopendridae all over the world - many with astonishingly varied and beautiful colours.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/34472/bgimage

For example Arachnoboards has an excellent and informative section for those people who like to keep these fascinating Myriapods.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/foru...hp?3-Myriapods

And here is the wonderful photo-gallery of the creatures on there which also includes their vegetarian relatives - the Millipedes.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/gall...images.php?c=4
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
The largest millipede in the world - the beautiful Giant Black African Millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqSoxD_Hsf8

http://top10hm.com/wp-content/upload.../millipede.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2803/4...6762b23d35.jpg

http://www.creepycrawlyroadshow.com/...illismall4.jpg

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townn...review-300.jpg

http://junglejimwild.com/MillRecord.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dqSoxD_Hsf8/maxresdefault.jpg
anne_666
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“The largest millipede in the world - the beautiful Giant Black African Millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqSoxD_Hsf8

http://top10hm.com/wp-content/upload.../millipede.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2803/4...6762b23d35.jpg

http://www.creepycrawlyroadshow.com/...illismall4.jpg

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townn...review-300.jpg

http://junglejimwild.com/MillRecord.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dqSoxD_Hsf8/maxresdefault.jpg”

Bloody wonderful all of them. I still have a thing about any of these creatures being kept as pets though. Better quality of life, I know but ..........................
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by anne_666:
“Bloody wonderful all of them. I still have a thing about any of these creatures being kept as pets though. Better quality of life, I know but ..........................”

I think they have a very good life if looked after correctly.

And I think education is an excellent use for pet invertebrates as well - if people see one at a demonstration for example they will maybe think twice about killing such creatures far smaller relatives.
anne_666
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“I think they have a very good life if looked after correctly.

And I think education is an excellent use for pet invertebrates as well - if people see one at a demonstration for example they will maybe think twice about killing such creatures far smaller relatives. ”

Yes if they are and of course education is important from an early age. Too many people lack respect for nature and it's importance.
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2014
Originally Posted by anne_666:
“Yes if they are and of course education is important from an early age. Too many people lack respect for nature and it's importance.”

I totally agree.
Asmo
12-08-2014
What about giant Isopods?

http://mentalfloss.com/article/56278...-giant-isopods

(Yes, I know, not actually insects - but they look like the Wood/water louse world's Hulk)
If anyone's seen the recent Godzilla reboot, the nuclear monster in that seems to have had some of it's features inspired by the Isopod's mug.
Keyser_Soze1
12-08-2014
Originally Posted by Asmo:
“What about giant Isopods?

http://mentalfloss.com/article/56278...-giant-isopods

(Yes, I know, not actually insects - but they look like the Wood/water louse world's Hulk)
If anyone's seen the recent Godzilla reboot, the nuclear monster in that seems to have had some of it's features inspired by the Isopod's mug.”

Neither are Arachnids or Myriapods but I have been blatantly cheating by posting them on here anyway!

Bathynomus giganteus and the other giant isopods are very popular creatures on the web - I first read about Bathynomus as a child in a Readers Digest article decades ago.

The 'Deep Sea News' (a really excellent site) is a huge fan of the beasts for example.

http://deepseanews.com/category/organisms/giant-isopod/
degsyhufc
12-08-2014
Originally Posted by Chris Mark:
“Eating insects isn't really that diffrent from eating prawns and other crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters really.

In fact insects are more closely related to crustaceans than they are to arachnids and most other arthropods. I must admit that this insect does look bizarre though.”

I remember Hugh FW frying up some woodlice for himself and some kids and he said they tasted similar to prawns/shrimp.
Keyser_Soze1
12-08-2014
Originally Posted by degsyhufc:
“I remember Hugh FW frying up some woodlice for himself and some kids and he said they tasted similar to prawns/shrimp.”

Of course they would - they are both crustaceans after all.
Keyser_Soze1
21-06-2015
Bumping this thread because although I had heard of the huge Mydas flies.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.../Mydas_sp..JPG

http://imworld.ru/wp-content/uploads...1%85%D0%B0.jpg

I never knew about the existence of Giant Timber flies.

Imagine these (totally harmless) buggers buzzing around your head!

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress...ophthalmid.jpg

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...as-d51lonf.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2072/2...c63f0397_b.jpg

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150...s-in-the-world

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/blog...omGateway=true

http://thesmallermajority.com/2013/0...bling-beliefs/
tenofspades
21-06-2015
World's largest flying aquatic insect. And it's only just been discovered?
Maybe a giraffe will be noticed next.
wilehelmas
21-06-2015
That's a biggun!

Absolutely fab.

A taste of what Jurassic Period life might have been like a hundred fold.
Keyser_Soze1
21-06-2015
Originally Posted by wilehelmas:
“That's a biggun!

Absolutely fab.

A taste of what Jurassic Period life might have been like a hundred fold.”

A nice recent article on the magnificent Wetas of New Zealand - they are very 'Jurassic' both in size and looks.

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/absurd-...the-week-weta/
Keyser_Soze1
11-07-2015
The Tarantula Hawk.

If you are unfortunate enough to get stung by one just go and scream in a ditch for a few hours.

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/absurd-...mbid=social_fb
Keyser_Soze1
11-08-2015
The unfolding mystery of the magnificent Death's Head Hawkmoth's squeak.

But Clarice Starling just hates the bloody things!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...-death-noises/
belly button
11-08-2015
Oh my giddy aunt !!! They aren't coming over here are they ???
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