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TITAN STICK INSECT FACTS |
Identification
The Titan Stick Insect is one of the longest stick insects in Australia. (It used to be considered the longest, but Ctenomorpha gargantua discovered a few years ago is even longer). The Titan is a brown stick insect that does indeed look like a stick, providing excellent camouflage when the insect is at rest in a tree. When they move they have a swaying motion like a twig moving in the wind. They usually rest with their front legs straight out in front of their body giving them a stick like appearance. pointed directly out in front of their bodies, making them look very long and stick like. Both males and females have two pairs of wings. Wings are brownish with purple underside. Males can fly quite well, but females have reduced wings and are incapable of flight.
Other Names
Great Brown Phasma
Size
body length 22cm to 27cm. Males are much smaller than females (about half as long).
Habitat
woodland
Food
Titan Stick Insect feed on Eucalyptus trees, Acacia trees, Callitris species, and some garden plants such as raspberries and roses.
Breeding
The female Titan Stick Insect can lay up to 2000 eggs in her life time. The eggs are oval, grey and about 2mm in diameter. Eggs drop onto the ground and hatch amongst the leaf litter. The nymphs bright green or brown.
Range
eastern coastal areas of Australia.
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Phasmatodea | | Family: | Phasmatidae | | Genus: | Acrophylla | | Species: | titan | | Common Name: | Titan Stick Insect |
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