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BERCHEM, Belgium — If you spend time outdoors on a regular basis, you can expect to run into insects. But imagine encountering something like the giant bug featured in this viral video.
That enormous insect is part of a collection shown off by an insect breeder known as Phasmedia on social media, in Belgium.
It's a female stick insect or phasmid, species Phryganistria tamdaoensis, which lives in the wild in Vietnam.
"Believe it or not, she is by far not even the longest stick insect in the world!" the Phasmedia post says. This species typically grows to be 9 inches long, but the giant Chinese stick insect can measure up to 25 inches long when its arms and legs are extended.
Fotunately, despite their size, these bugs don't bite or sting.