The World's Largest Insect Is 2 Feet of Pure Nope Nope Nope

A stick insect measuring a horrifying 24.6 inches long just earned the title of the world's longest bug, according to the Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.

Just look at this thing:

It's a new type of stick insect, named "Phryganistria chinensis Zhao" for the researcher Zhao Li who discovered it in the southern province of Guangxi in 2014. He spent years looking for the bug after hearing accounts of a humongous insect from locals.

"I was collecting insects on a 1,200-meter-tall (3,937-foot) mountain in Guangxi's Liuzhou City on the night of Aug. 16, 2014, when a dark shadow appeared in the distance, which looked like a tree twig," Li told Xinhua. "As I went near, I was shocked to find the huge insect's legs were as long as its body." 

The previous record-holding insect was also a stick insect that measured in at 22.3 inches. This new bug beat the record by a whopping 2.3 inches. A scientific paper describing it will be published soon, according to Xinhua.

This guy is definitely terrifying-looking, but at least it's not a 2-foot cockroach. 

h/t Popular Science

Correction: May 9, 2016