World's heaviest insect - a giant weta

Giant wetas are cricket-like creatures and are endemic to New Zealand. They are the world's biggest insects in terms of weight. They manage to grow so huge because of their isolation and lack of large predators.

Recently, the biggest giant weta ever found was discovered in remote Little Barrier Island, New Zealand.

A female, she weighs 71g (that's 3 mice) and has a wing span of 7".

Obviously the person who's holding her in the photos below doesn't suffer from insect phobias of any kind, because he put her in his hand to eat a carrot, then put her back where he found her: on a tree.