Giant dobsonfly
The giant dobsonfly is a huge insect with big, see-through wings and strong jaws. It lives near clean rivers and streams in China and Vietnam. With wings opened wide, it is the biggest water insect in the world.
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Fun facts
Its wings measure 21.6 centimetres from tip to tip. That earned it a world record as the biggest water insect.
Before it, the record belonged to a damselfly from Brazil.
The mother lays her eggs between stones next to flowing water.
Its larvae need very clean water. Where rivers get dirty, they disappear.
The grown-ups love light, so people often see them sitting near lamps by the water.
Most asked questions about Giant dobsonfly
?How big is the giant dobsonfly?
Its wings reach 21.6 centimetres across, a world record for a water insect.
?What does the giant dobsonfly eat?
The grown-ups drink tree sap. The larvae in the water eat insects, baby frogs and small fish.
?Where does the giant dobsonfly live?
Near clean streams and rivers in southern China and northern Vietnam.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Acanthacorydalis fruhstorferi
- Named by
- van der Weele, 1907
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Corydalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Megaloptera > Corydalidae
- Lives on
- Asia
- Also known as
- Giant Chinese dobsonfly
Where the facts come from
- Acanthacorydalis fruhstorferi (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Theo Busschau. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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