Titan Stick Insect - Acrophylla titan

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Titan Stick Insect - Acrophylla titan

[Public Domain] 31 Jan 2009 Dylan O'Donnell
CATEGORY : Species
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By fortune Anna spotted this usually camoflaged Goliath Titan Stick Insect, made conspicuous by being nowhere near a tree but on the neighbor’s front lattice. This is a massive specimen, possibly maximum size (?) although appears to be in nymph (pre-adult) stage as they are usually fully green.

“These are among the largest and longest insects on Earth, both occur in NSW and reach lengths of up to 25 cm. They feed on the leaves of many plants, usually melaleucas, acacias and eucalyptus and resemble sticks or leaves. These insects are completely harmless and have developed many unusual shapes to camouflage themselves to avoid detection by predators. The females are usually flightless and the males usually have wings and flutter through the canopy searching for mates.” – (via ABC)

VIDEO : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVu30W1nHBE

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