World's Largest Aquatic Insect Discovered in China [Video]

A team of entomologists have discovered what may be the world's largest flying aquatic insect with huge gross pincers.

Earlier this month, the locals at the outskirts of Chengdu discovered a number of giant flies and handed them to the Insect Museum of West China. According to the officials, the insect had the biggest wingspan - the wings stretched 8.27 inches when open - grabbing the record for the world's largest water-dwelling insect, reports CNN.

Before the discovery this aquatic insect, the South American helicopter damselfly that had a wingspan of 7.5 inches was considered the largest.

These odd-looking critters, found in China's Sichuan province, were analyzed and found to be large specimens of the giant dobsonfly - native to China and Vietnam. They are of the subfamily Corydaline, which is a part of the megalopteran family.

The massive insect can cover a human adult face and entomologists consider it as an indicator of water quality. Their presence indicates clean water.

According to CNN, the aquatic critters are "highly sensitive to any changes in the water's pH as well as the presence of trace elements of pollutants. If the water is even slightly contaminated, the giant dobsonfly will move on to seek cleaner waters."

The bugs, discovered under a street lamp, are biggest but not the only massive bugs around. The list of massive insects includes the giant stick insect that grows 2 feet in length, the mammoth Atlas moth that has a wingspan of a foot and the cricket-like giant weta that weighs more than a bug and can easily consume a carrot, according to Huffington Post.