The Phasmatodea 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 darning needles, although this name is shared by both dragonflies and crane flies. They can be generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects, with phasmids in the family Phylliidae called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defense in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera Phryganistria, Ctenomorpha, and Phobaeticus include the world's longest insects.
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, also known simply as The Causeway, is a fixed link composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The longer of the two bridges is 23.83 miles (38.35 km) long. The southern terminus of the causeway is in Metairie, Louisiana, and the northern terminus is in Mandeville, Louisiana. Both are in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
Bombax ceiba, like other trees of the genus Bombax, is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of which may also refer to Ceiba pentandra.
Phobaeticus serratipes is a species of stick insect that at one time was the longest known insect, with one female specimen recorded as being 55.5 cm (21.9 in) in total length. This measurement includes the legs fully extended front and rear, and the actual length of the body alone is considerably shorter. This insect is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Sumatra. It is a popular species among those who raise insects.
The largest body part is either the largest given body part across all living and extinct organisms or the largest example of a body part within an existing species. The largest animals on the planet are not the only ones to have large body parts, with some smaller animals actually having one particularly enlarged area of the body.
Heteropteryx is a monotypic genus of stick insects containing Heteropteryx dilatata as the only described species. and gives its name to the family of the Heteropterygidae. Their only species may be known as jungle nymph, Malaysian stick insect, Malaysian wood nymph, Malayan jungle nymph, or Malayan wood nymph and because of their size it is commonly kept in zoological institutions and private terrariums of insect lovers. It originates from the Malay Archipelago and is nocturnal.
Argosarchus is a monotypic genus in the family Phasmatidae containing the single species Argosarchus horridus, or the New Zealand bristly stick insect, a stick insect endemic to New Zealand. The name "horridus" means bristly in Latin, likely referring to its spiny thorax.
The Phasmatidae are a family of the stick insects. They belong to the superfamily Anareolatae of suborder Verophasmatodea.
The banded lampeye is a species of poeciliid that is native to Africa, ranging from Senegal to Angola. It is mainly found in coastal brackish habitats such as river mouths, lagoons and mangrove swamps. It reaches up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in total length.
Phobaeticus kirbyi is species of stick insect native to Borneo. It is one of the world's longest insects. The holotype deposited at the Natural History Museum in London measures 32.8 cm (12.9 in) in body length and 54.6 cm (21.5 in) total length, including extended legs. This makes it the third-longest known insect in terms of body length, behind the stick insects Phryganistria "chinensis" with 36.1 cm (14.2 in) and Phobaeticus chani with 35.7 cm (14.1 in). P. "chinensis", P. chani, P. serratipes and Ctenomorpha gargantua exceed it in total length with legs extended. Recent specimens of P. kirbyi have only reached 28.3 cm (11.1 in) in body length.
Acrophylla titan, the titan stick insect, is the second-longest stick insect found in Australia. First described by William Sharp Macleay in 1826, it was considered to be the longest stick insect in the world until the discovery of Ctenomorpha gargantua.
Phobaeticus chani, the Chan's megastick, is a species of stick insect in the tribe Pharnaciini, native to the southeast Asian island of Borneo. It is one of the longest insects in the world and was once considered the record-holder. One specimen held in the Natural History Museum in London measures 56.7 cm (22.3 in). This measurement is, however, with the front legs fully extended. The body alone still measures an impressive 35.7 cm (14.1 in).
Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is a 26.7 km (16.6 mi) long roadway bridge in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, which is part of the 41.58 km (25.84 mi) Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project. The longest continuous segment of the bridge is 25.9 km (16.1 mi), making it one of the longest bridges in the world.
The largest animal currently alive is the blue whale. The maximum recorded weight was 190 tonnes for a specimen measuring 27.6 metres (91 ft), whereas longer ones, up to 33 metres (108 ft), have been recorded but not weighed. It is estimated that this individual could have a mass of 250 tonnes or more. The longest non-colonial animal is the lion's mane jellyfish.
Dryococelus australis, commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect or tree lobster, is a species of stick insect that lives on the Lord Howe Island Group. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Dryococelus. Thought to be extinct by 1920, it was rediscovered in 2001. It is extirpated in its largest former habitat, Lord Howe Island, and has been called "the rarest insect in the world", as the rediscovered population consisted of 24 individuals living on the small islet of Ball's Pyramid.
Phryganistria is a genus of stick insects belonging to the subfamily Clitumninae, native to northeastern South Asia, northern Mainland Southeast Asia, and southern China. The species in this genus range in size from fairly large to very large.
Ctenomorpha gargantua, the gargantuan stick insect, is a species of stick insect that is endemic to rainforests in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It is Australia's longest stick insect and among the world's longest stick insects, with females having been confirmed at up to 56.5 cm (22.2 in) in total length, including extended legs and cerci, but they can likely grow even larger, as there are unconfirmed measurements of up to 61.5 cm (24.2 in). Both sexes are brown, but males only reach about two-thirds the length of females and they are also thinner.
Phobaeticus annamallayanus is a species of stick insect found in forests in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Its type location is in the forests of the Annamallay hills.
