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]
| Acrophylla titan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Adult female (pinned specimen) | |
Scientific 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 | |
| |
It is native to south-east Queensland and New South Wales.
Description
edit
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
editA. 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
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Brock, Paul D.; Hasenpusch, Jack W. (2009). Complete Field Guide to Leaf and Stick Insects of Australia. Csiro. ISBN 9780643094185.
- ^ "Ctenomorpha gargantua". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- ^ "askzk.org.au" (PDF).