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| image =2nd last instar of Titan stick insect.JPG
| image =2nd last instar of Titan stick insect.JPG
| image_caption= 2nd last [[instar]]
| image_caption= 2nd last [[instar]]
| image2 = Pinned Titan stick insect.JPG
| image2 = Acrophylla titan pinned.JPG
| image2_caption = Adult female (pinned [[specimen]])
| image2_caption = Adult female (pinned [[specimen]])
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia

Revision as of 01:16, 17 June 2012

Acrophylla titan
2nd last instar
Adult female (pinned specimen)
Scientific classification
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A. titan
Binomial name
Acrophylla titan
Macleay, 1827

The titan stick insect (Acrophylla titan) is the longest stick insect found in Australia. It is endemic to south-east Queensland and New South Wales. Titan stick insects are pale brown-grey in colour and can grow up to 30cm in length. The females can be easily identified as being larger than the males. Males are able to fly but females are not.

Titan stick insect eggs

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 a lot of 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, 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