Giant Bug Discovered in Australian Rainforest: Heaviest Insect Found - Storyful

Published  August 8, 2025 11:19am CDT

Researchers found a huge bug was found in a rainforest, and it's considered the heaviest insect in Australia.

The insect named Acrophylla alta weighs 44 grams, which is less than the size of a golf ball. Researchers told the social news platform Storyful that the rare bug possibly went undiscovered for a while because its habitat is hard to access.

James Cook University researcher Angus Emmott told Storyful that the insects' eggs helped identify the bug as a new species.

"There are longer stick insects out there [in the region], but theyre fairly light bodied," Emmott said. "From what we know to date, this is Australias heaviest insect."

Storyful noted that two specimens of the species are now in a collection at Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia. 

The Source: Information for this story was provided by Storyful, which cites comments from researchers about the insect.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C.