China bug declared world's longest insect
A bug over half a metre long discovered in southern China has been declared world's longest insect.
BEIJING (AFP) - A bug over half a metre long discovered in southern China has been declared the world s longest insect, state media said Thursday.
A stick insect measuring 62.4 centimetres found two years ago in the southern province of Guangxi has broken the record for length amongst the world s 807,625 known insects, the official Xinhua agency said, citing the Insect Museum of West China.
The previous record-holder was a Malaysian 56.7-centimetre-long stick insect discovered in 2008 and now on display in London s Natural History Museum.
Tipped off by locals about a huge beast half a metre long but as thick as a human index finger, scientist Zhao Li had been on the hunt for the bug for six years before he finally glimpsed and captured one.
"I was collecting insects on a 1,200-metre-tall mountain in Guangxi s Liuzhou City on the night of Aug. 16, 2014, when a dark shadow appeared in the distance, which looked like a tree twig," Zhao said, according to Xinhua.
"As I went near, I was shocked to find the huge insect s legs were as long as its body," he added.
The bug has been dubbed Phryganistria chinensis Zhao in his honour, and a paper about it will soon be published.
More than 3,000 varieties of stick insects have been discovered so far, Xinhua said.
