Acrophylla titan
Adult female (pinned specimen)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Infraorder: Anareolatae
Family: Phasmatidae
Subfamily: Phasmatinae
Genus: Acrophylla
Species:
A. titan
Binomial name
Acrophylla titan
Macleay, 1827
Synonyms
  • Phasma titan
  • Diura titan Gray GR, 1833

Acrophylla titan, the titan stick insect, is the second-longest stick insect found in Australia. First described by William Sharp Macleay in 1826,[1] it was considered to be the longest stick insect in the world until the discovery of Ctenomorpha gargantua.[2]

It is native to south-east Queensland and New South Wales.

Description

Titan stick insect eggs

Titan stick insects are pale brown-grey in color and can grow up to 26 centimetres (10 in) in body length. Their long, wavy cerci are a unique trait of the species.[1] Males and females can be easily distinguished due to the females being larger and having sharp spines on the legs.[3] Males are able to fly but females are flightless.

Breeding

A. titan breeds 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 40 minutes and is repeated several times. A single female will typically produce 200 to 1000 eggs in her lifetime. However, A. titan also holds the record for most eggs laid by a single phasmid due to one female laying over 2,050 eggs.[1]

The females then flick their eggs to the ground. The eggs look similar to 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

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brock, Paul D.; Hasenpusch, Jack W. (2009). Complete Field Guide to Leaf and Stick Insects of Australia. Csiro. ISBN 9780643094185.
  2. ↑ "Ctenomorpha gargantua". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  3. ↑ "askzk.org.au" (PDF).
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