The first 5 beasts in this gallery are New Zealand examples of gigantism, insects evolving in the absence of mammals. The giant Weta is the heaviest insect the world. The others shown here form an ongoing collection of animals from around the world. Some will have suffered, being washed up in a swimming pool in Italy or chased around an Austrian town before ending up in front of the lens. Others have died of natural causes and were simply picked up where they fell.