China receives second Guinness World Record for large insects

An insect currently being bred at the Insect Museum of West China (IMWC) in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been awarded the Guinness World Record for the world's longest insect. 

The photo, taken on September 16, 2017, shows the world's longest insect and its certificate of the Guinness World Record. [Photo: IC]

This is the second Guinness World Record awarded to an insect found in China.

The stick insect (Phryganistria chinensis Zhao) measures 64 cm with its legs fully outstretched.

It was first discovered by Zhao Li, the manager of the IMWC, during a field inspection in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 2014 and was later taken back to be bred at the museum.

The previous record holder was a stick insect found in Malaysia in 2008. It measured 56.7 cm and is currently at the Natural History Museum in London.

The photo, taken on September 16, 2017, shows the world's longest insect being bred at the Insect Museum of West China (IMWC) in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. [Photo: IC]

The IMWC also has the world's largest aquatic insect, a dobsonfly (Acanthacorydalis fruhstorferi) with a wingspan of 21.6 cm. 

Stick insects are good at disguising themselves as twigs or tree leaves, making them hard to notice. More than 3,000 kinds of stick insects have been discovered so far.