What the insect with the longest tongue in the world looks like: it was found in the forests of Madagascar. Photo

Scientists have identified a species of insect with the longest tongue in the world, found in Madagascar. It is a moth with an extended tongue length of 28.5 centimeters.

The existence of this record holder was predicted back in 1862 by the famous English scientist Charles Darwin, who was sent a Madagascar orchid with a 30-centimeter-long nectar tube. 5 years later, one of the leading naturalists of the XIX century, Alfred Russell Wallace, who also studied that unusual orchid, suggested that the hawk moth species would be the most likely candidate for the role of an insect that could sip nectar from a flower with the longest nectar tube, IFLScience writes.

In 1903, scientists came to the conclusion that the longest tongue was that of an insect that was considered a subspecies of the Morgan sphinx moth (Xanthopan morganii). And a 2021 study determined that it was not a subspecies after all, but rather a separate species, now called Xanthopan praedicta, in honor of the prediction of both naturalists.

Most of the measurements of the proboscis of this species of brazhnik were taken from museum and private collections. And in March 2020, measurements were made on live butterflies, carefully opening their proboscis with a pin. One of the specimens had a tongue length of 28.5 centimeters.

"Imagine my excitement as I unwrapped and measured the proboscis of a male xanthopan in the rainforests of Madagascar, realizing that this was probably a world record holder," said David Leese, a moth researcher at the Natural History Museum in London.

The researchers also set up cameras in front of orchids with the longest nectar tube in the Madagascar jungle to film the process of the record-breaking moth drinking the nectar.

And they managed to capture this unique footage. Now the world has all the evidence it needs to prove that Xanthopan praedicta is the insect with the longest tongue in the world.

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