As 2014 draws to a close, it's as fine a time as any to reflect on some of our coverage this year on everyone's freak-out favorites -- spiders and bugs. (OK, they may not be everyone's favorite things to freak out about, but odds are they're in the argument.)

Meet the dobsonfly, the largest aquatic insect ever documented, discovered in China by local villagers in the country's Sichuan province. Its wing span of more than 8 inches was a standout for dobsonflies, which boast more than 200 species but none the size of this behemoth.