Why are Many Flying Insects bigger than Non-flying Insects, What’s the advantage of being larger-sized as a Flying Insect?

Question

I’ve noticed that many of the biggest insects can fly. Of course there are some large insects that don’t fly, like the Giant Weta or the Giant Stickbugs, but many other large insects like Goliath Beetles, Atlas Moths, Giant Water Bugs, Tarantula Hawks, Hercules Beetles, Giant Hornets, and many more, and heck, even the largest insects that ever lived on Earth were Meganeuras or Meganeuropsis Giant Dragonflies, Insects that can fly! Wouldn’t larger size and weight be a disadvantage over flying creatures? What makes it more advantageous for a flying insect to be larger-sized?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Greater access to nutrients. They have a far larger effective range and have less of a selective pressure on their size to be energy efficient. Also larger wings increase this range and access and efficiency though obviously this does encounter diminishing returns, but for the insect world larger wings are generally more efficient.