Order Phasmids | Scientific name Acrophylla titan Rank Species | |
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Similar Acrophylla, Phasmids, Eurycnema goliath, Eurycnema, Tropidoderus childrenii Binomial name Acrophylla titan (Macleay, 1827) Synonyms Phasma titan, Diura titan Gray GR, 1833 | ||
Acrophylla titan, the titan stick insect, is the longest stick insect found in Australia.
Contents
- Matt running from a australia s biggest insect acrophylla titan at coolum
- Description
- Breeding
- References
It is endemic to south-east Queensland and New South Wales.
Matt running from a australia s biggest insect acrophylla titan at coolum
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 female insects propel their eggs onto the ground, which resemble those of the children's stick insect (Tropidoderus childrenii) but differ in their black-grey coloration and the presence of a small white appendage. Ants are attracted to these eggs, consuming the white growth but sparing the egg itself, which they leave in their nest. Within this protected environment, the eggs hatch.
