SCIENCE

The world’s biggest ‘mosquito’ is ENORMOUS

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 a Chinese entomologist in the southwestern province of Sichuan in August.

The mosquito has a 4.4-inch wingspan, making it the largest in the world. Photo: Xinhua

Its body is 2 inches long, with a wingspan of 4.4 inches. That’s 10 times longer than an average mosquito and a third longer than is typical for the species, holorusia mikado.

The insect’s capturer killed it by freezing it, as opposed to using fire as one might assume. Photo: Xinhua

“The mosquito was collected in August last year. After I caught it I quickly made it into a specimen, by killing and freezing it. This may sound cruel, but for insects it is a painless death,” the mega-mosquito’s discoverer Zhao Li told the South China Morning Post.

But there’s no need to protect your blood vessels: the fly is not in fact a bloodsucker, which means that in English “crane fly” might be a more accurate translation.

ADAM WHITE

Adam White is a contributor to Inkstone. The Hong Kong-born-and-raised journalist and editor has written for CNN, Time, Monocle, HK Magazine and the New Statesman.

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