In other insects, however, the exoskeleton is not always so hard, and different parts of the body may have varying solidity.Ī beautifully preserved fossil of a Meganeuropsis permiana, the largest insect known to have ever lived on Earth. It is made by the squeezing and cracking of the exoskeleton, which is particularly hard in the case of cockroaches. When you step on a cockroach, there is that crunchy sound which some people find pleasing, while others detest.

Atlas moths have the largest wings, by surface area, of any living insect. Their maximum body mass is uncertain, with estimates varying between 34 g and 240 g, so up to more than twice the size of the goliath beetle. These creatures had a wingspan of some 75 cm (28 in) – about three times that of the atlas moth. Among them, giant griffinflies such as Meganeura monyi and Meganeuropsis permiana are the largest known insect species to have ever existed. The largest living insect species we know today are the atlas moth (which sport the largest wings by surface area at 160 cm2 or 25 in2), the white witch moth (which has the largest wingspan at almost 30 cm or 12 in), and the goliath beetle, the heaviest insect at 115 g (4.1 oz).Īs in the case of most other animal groups, the ancestors of insects also tended to be bigger than their contemporary counterparts. Life-size model of the Permian griffinfly Meganeura.

Longest wingspan