''Ctenomorpha gargantua'', the gargantuan stick insect, is a species of
stick insect
The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick bugs, walkingsticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's da ...
that is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
s in northeastern
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia.
It is Australia's longest stick insect and among the
world's longest stick insects, with females having been confirmed at up to in total length, including extended legs and
cerci (protrusions from the end of their body, which are unusually long in this species
), but they can likely grow even larger, as there are unconfirmed measurements of up to .
Both sexes are brown, but males only reach about two-thirds the length of females and they are also thinner.
canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
; only a few females have ever been found in the wild.[ If no male is present, a female can breed alone via ]parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...
.[ A captive breeding program is run by ]Museum Victoria
Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne. These include Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks (Melbourne), Scienceworks, IMAX Melbourne, a research institute, the UNESCO W ...
,[ Their wild food plants are unknown,][ but captives will feed on '']Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'', ''Syzygium australe
''Syzygium australe'', with many common names that include brush cherry, scrub cherry, creek lilly-pilly, creek satinash, and watergum, is a rainforest tree native to eastern Australia. It can attain a height of up to 35 m with a trunk diameter o ...
'' and ''Corymbia torelliana
''Corymbia torelliana'', commonly known as cadaghi or cadaga, is a species of tree that is Endemism, endemic to north Queensland. It has smooth, greenish grey to white bark, rough at the base of older trees, egg-shaped, heart-shaped or lance-sh ...
''.
See also
* List of largest insects
Insects, which are a type of arthropod, are the most numerous group of multicellular organisms on the planet, with over a million species identified so far. The title of heaviest insect in the world has many contenders, the most frequently crowne ...
References
External links
*
Phasmatidae
Insects of Australia
{{Phasmatodea-stub