Acrophylla titan

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Acrophylla titan
Acrophylla titan pinned.JPG
Adult female (pinned specimen)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Phasmatidae
Subfamily: Phasmatinae
Tribe: Phasmatini
Genus: Acrophylla
Species:
A. titan
Binomial name
Acrophylla titan
Macleay, 1827
Synonyms
  • Phasma titan
  • Diura titan Gray GR, 1833

Acrophylla titan, the titan stick insect, is the third-longest stick insect found in Australia. First described by William Sharp Macleay in 1826, [2] it was considered to be the longest stick insect in the world until the discovery of Ctenomorpha gargantua . [3]

Contents

It is native to south-east Queensland and New South Wales.

Description

Titan stick insect eggs Acrophylla titan eggs.jpg
Titan stick insect eggs

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. [2] Males and females can be easily distinguished due to the females being larger and having sharp spines on the legs. [4] Males are able to fly but females are flightless.

Breeding

A. 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. [2]

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

References

  1. ↑ Rudolf, E.; Brock, P. (2017). "Acrophylla titan". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017 e.T78791411A78792127. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T78791411A78792127.en . Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Brock, Paul D.; Hasenpusch, Jack W. (2009). Complete Field Guide to Leaf and Stick Insects of Australia. Csiro. ISBN   978-0-643-09418-5.
  3. ↑ "Ctenomorpha gargantua". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  4. ↑ Jon Veenstra (2013). "Husbandry Guidelines for Titan Stick Insect Acrophylla titan Insecta: Phasmatodea: Phasmatidea" (PDF). askzk.org.au.
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