Medinho: Chinese discover the longest insect in the world

If you don't like insects, this is bad news for you: a group of Chinese scientists claim to have discovered the longest insect in the world. It belongs to the genus Phryganistria, the one with animals that closely resemble tree branches, and is 62.4 centimeters.

Although it was found in 2014, it has just now been finally classified as the longest, beating the previous discovery of a similar 56.7 cm insect found in the London Natural History Museum. The discovery was made by Zhao Li of the West China Insect Museum.

He says the hunt for Phryganistria chinensis Zhao - named after the discoverer himself - lasted a few years and began after some farmers claimed to have seen a huge, finger-sized insect.

"I was collecting insects on a mountain in the Guangxi region when I saw a huge shadow appear like a twig, " Zhao said. "It was when I got close that I saw that the insect's legs were as large as its body."

Taking the animal back to the museum, the researcher said he had six eggs and that the smallest of the new creatures was 26 centimeters. It must be a matter of time for a new record to appear.

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