Until 2016, the longest insect in the world was Phobaeticus chani, a stick insect, with one specimen held in the Natural History Museum in London measuring 56.7 centimeters (22.3 in). Top 10 largest insects on earth our planet. YOU ANSWERED INCORRECTLY! You never know, there may be some insects, as yet unidentified, that live even longer. Answer: Splendour beetle About The Answer: Splendour beetles (Arilus biguttatus) are one of the longest living insects. That makes the Brood II cicadas one of the longest-lived insects in the world. The longest living insect in the world is Phobaeticus Chani, also known as Chan’s megastick. However, some wood boring beetles have been found living in wood as larva for up to twelve years, or even thirty years. Regardless of what you already did (or did not know) now you’re a pro at the longest-living insects, and you can tell your friends and family the news too! Phobaeticus Chani, also a native of Borneo Island in Malaysia, got the title for the longest living insect in the … After the female beetle lays its eggs on a host tree, the larva hatch and burrow into the wood, where they often emerge the following spring […] From the list below, which insect lives the longest? These are just three long lived insects. Encyclopedia smithsonian incredible insects institution. Cicadas these insects can live up to 17 years. Without legs fully extended, the body alone still measures an impressive 357 mm (14.1 in). We showed you some giant insects in here before and knew that the record was hold by Borneo native Phobaeticus kirbyi, at more than 14 inches (35.6 cm), but not anymore. Once cicadas emerge from the ground, they only live for a few weeks—just enough time to hopefully mate, before they die or become snacks for local predators. One normally thinks of insects as living only a few days, or at most a few weeks, but if you're a particularly important bug all the rules go out the window. One creature, called the “Springtail”, is a hexapod that looks very insect like. But they actually live for 17 years, nearly all of which is spent underground in the nymph stage. However, the white witch, Thysania agrippina, has the longest recorded wingspan of the order, and indeed of any living insect, at up to 30 cm (12 in), though it is exceeded in surface area and mass by both Ornithoptera and Attacus. Longest-Lived Insect: The Queen Termite (50 Years) Giancarlodessi/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain. You may have known about cicadas, but you maybe were surprised that the longest-living insect can very well be a queen termite.