World's Largest Aquatic Insect Reportedly Found In China

An Insects the size of human faces have been found in Sichuan province, China, CNN reported. The Insect Museum of West China (which is a real thing, apparently) acquired the insects, which turned out to be dobsonflies, from villagers on the outskirts of Chengdu, CNN said. The largest insect had a wingspan of 8.27 inches and pincers roughly the size of a human pinkie finger.

Museum staff, who measured the insects, believe them to be the largest aquatic bugs in the world. The previous record-holder, with a wingspan of 7.5 inches, was a South American damselfly.

The bugs may be terrifying, but researchers said that the existence of the dobsonflies was actually a good sign, as they are attracted to clean water. We hope the villagers of Chengdu will find comfort in the cleanliness of their water when bugs the size of personal pizzas become a regular fixture of their daily lives.

While the dobsonflies are presumably the world’s largest aquatic insects, the title of biggest bug overall still belongs to this nightmare.