A drawing of Meganeura, an insect similar in appearance to a dragonfly.
The Giant Dragonfly is a giant insect cryptid reported from Japan.
The largest scientifically reported dragonfly in Japan is the golden-ringed dragonfly, with a total length of about 10 cm. However, there are numerous reports of larger dragonflies, although their authenticity is unknown.
Sightings[]
Original 2003 report. Source:https://kako.5ch.net/test/read.cgi/occult/1056189254/
In 2003, a person posted on the Japanese Internet forum "2ch" that he had seen a dragonfly the same size as a bird on Mount Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture when he was in elementary school. He mentioned that he later looked it up in an illustrated reference book and found that it was an extinct dragonfly, so it must have been similar in appearance to Meganeura.
Three reports from 2010 combined into one image.
On June 14, 2010, a person posted on 2ch that he had witnessed a giant dragonfly. According to him, when he was in elementary school, he opened the window of his living room and saw a lesser emperor, more than 50 cm in size, wander into his house. Even the greater and lesser emperors, which are among the largest temperate dragonflies, are still only 7-8 cm long; he probably meant it was similar to one.
On July 6, 2010, another person reported on giant dragonflies. When he was in elementary school, he was riding his bike to go and play at a facility where he could experience a maze when he found a dead dragonfly about 30 cm long on the side of the road. He touched the dead creature and still remembers the tactile sensation.
On December 10, 2010, another person posted regarding giant dragonflies. He only mentioned that he had once seen a dragonfly about 1 meter long, and did not discuss the circumstances or more details about its appearance.
Original 2011 report. Source:https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1368165058
On August 5, 2011, a person posted on an Internet service that allows people to ask questions that he or she once saw a giant dragonfly. According to this report, he saw a dragonfly nearly 20 centimeters long in a bamboo grove in Kyoto, nearly 30 years ago. The mother of the witness was also there and together they saw the giant dragonfly.
Original 2019 report. Source: https://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/11265644.html
On August 25, 2019, a person with the handle Kaiju Tamagon reports that he or she witnessed a dragonfly nearly 20 centimeters long flying near the ceiling of a department store in Komatsushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, around 1970. Tamagon said his or her parents also witnessed this, Tamagon said it was unlikely that his or her parents had misjudged the size of the dragonfly, since they had also seen it and said there was a large dragonfly.
Explanations[]
In today's environment, it is difficult for insects to grow to giant size. This is due to the characteristics of their respiratory organs and their exoskeletons. For this reason, giant dragonflies such as those mentioned by the witnesses cannot exist today.
All of these reports are spoken of as having been experienced "in elementary school" or "a long time ago." It is most likely that the children's imagination and the power of the large dragonflies caused them to remember them with excessive size.