A giant insect, said to be the world’s biggest mosquito, will go on display at a museum in southwest China next month.
The supersized insect was discovered by Chinese entomologist Zhao Li during a field inspection at Qingcheng mountain in Sichuan province in August. Zhao said he had since spent time confirming that it was the largest mosquito found in the world before revealing his discovery.
With a 5cm long body and a wing span of 11.15cm, it is 10 times longer than an average mosquito and a third longer than is typical for its species, holorusia mikado.
That species is the largest of the mosquitoes with an average wing span of 8cm, and was discovered in Japan in 1876. Zhao’s specimen is from the Tipulidae family.