Acrophylla titan
| Acrophylla titan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd last instar | |
 | |
| Adult female (pinned specimen) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Phasmatidae |
| Subfamily: | Phasmatinae |
| Genus: | Acrophylla |
| Species: | A. titan |
| Binomial name | |
| Acrophylla titan Macleay, 1827 | |
Acrophylla titan, the titan stick insect, is the longest stick insect found in Australia.
It is endemic to south-east Queensland and New South Wales.
Description
Titan stick insects are pale brown-grey in colour and can grow up to 30 centimetres (12 in) in length. The females can be easily identified as being larger than the males. Males are able to fly but females are not.
Breeding
Titans breed during winter/summer. During the mating process, the male connects his abdomen to the lower part of the female's egg compartment. Mating can take up to 40mins and is repeated several times. The female will end up with a fat abdomen and will produce many eggs (200 to 1000) in her lifetime.
The females then flick their eggs to the ground. The eggs look like those of the children's stick insect (Tropidoderus childrenii) but they are black-grey with a small white growth. Ants pick them up and eat the growth, and leave the egg in the refinery where they hatch.
See also
- List of Australian stick insects and mantids
- Spur legged phasmid
- Children's stick insect
- Goliath stick insect
External links
- Phasmid Study Group: Acrophylla titan
- Brisbane Insects: Titan Stick Insect
- Queensland Museum Factsheet
- Bugs Ed: Titan Stick Insect