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Acrophylla titan
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 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. BreedingA. 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
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