Malaysian Champions

Its the time of the year when we remember the formation of our beloved country Malaysia. In this Malaysia Day edition, we would like to highlight some ‘little Malaysians’ that has made it into the world records. Lets take some time to appreciate our local champions, shall we?

1. The Longest Stick Insect

Apparently the world’s longest stick insect is a Malaysian species, known as Chan’s Megastick or Phobaeticus chani. One of these megasticks made it all the way to Natural History Museum of London, measuring 22.3 inches (56.7 cm) with its legs all stretched out to the front, like this:

source: fox news

Chan’s Megasticks are found in Sabah, our beautiful “Land Below the Wind” and scientists announced this species to be among the top 10 new species described in 2008.  Thanks for making us proud!

2. The Heaviest Stick Insect

Durians are not the only spiky prickly things in the forest of Malaysia. Meet one of the heaviest stick insect, the Thorny Stick Insect or Heteropteryx dilatata in scientific tongue. Some refer these creatures as the Jungle Nymph. The females of these species are able to weigh around 50-60 grams, which is about the weight of ½ cup of sugar. The females could grow to around 6 inches (15 cm) and they are twice the size of the males. You might wanna think twice before handling these creatures… just look at the spikes!

3. The Largest Leaf Insect

The Leaf Insects, as the name suggest, look exactly like leaves and that is where they usually literally hang out –among the leaves! Malaysia is home to the largest species of leaf insect, known as Phyllium gigantum. Members of this species could grow up to 5 inches long and about 3 inches wide. Apart from looking like leaves, they eat leaves too and not only that, they tend to act like one! When the wind blows, these little actors will sway like how the leaves would. So the next time you hike into Malaysian forest try spotting them if you can. 4. The Largest Cicada

One of the largest cicada (and possibly the loudest or most annoying) comes from Malaysia. We certainly do have many champions, don’t we? The champion’s name is Pomponia imperatorial or the Empress cicada. With their wings spread out, they measure 20cm (wingspan) and their body can be around 3 inches long. They are brown in colour and can be a quite an irritating house visitor as they can be quite hysterical around lights and can be very noisy. Someone should check if they’re the world’s noisiest cicada.

Source: www.agr.gc.ca

These are just a few examples of Malaysian champions of nature. Malaysia is not only diverse in culture and races but also rich in biodiversity. There are so much more to discover and perhaps someday we will receive more surprises when researches find more little champions. may this Malaysia Day will not only remind us the roots of our country but also remember to appreciate how rich our mother nature is.  Happy Malaysia Day!

Posted in Insects