The BIGGEST Australian Stick Insect

I headed up the driveway this morning for a refreshing walk to the mailbox & got one of natures surprises! 

Although "stick bugs" can be hard to spot, when you live in the country (especially in Oz) you have to be aware of your surroundings. Snakes, spiders, Goanna's & a host of other random creatures can be anywhere, at anytime. 

So amongst the random brush & vines growing on the fence lining our driveway, was a rather strange looking stick that I knew I had to check out. 

Sure enough...this was no stick...in fact it's the BIGGEST BUG I've ever seen. Look at the size of it next to my husbands hand!

Now, we have A LOT of types of stick insects here in Oz, so of course I had to learn more & this is what I found out...

Introducing the Ctenomorpha Chronus: 

This guy feeds on feeds on the leaves from Eucalyptus and other tree species. 

Males are fully winged and can fly, while females are much larger with reduced wings. I believe it was a male because it had camouflaged but obvious wings, which are hard to see in this front side photo but visible to the naked eye.

Legs are light pinkish brown and abdomen is blackish green.

The abdomen also has black spots which are raised up & bumpy looking. I couldn't bring myself to touch it because I'm still a bit of a wimp when it comes to creepy crawly's. 

Did you know that the female lays eggs that look like plant seeds! 

AND they don't need a male of the species...they let just let the eggs fall to the forest floor & they hatch in the leaves. It called parthenogenetic (capable of producing young from unfertilised egg).

Here's an egg photo from: http://www.ozanimals.com/ 

I never know what the day will bring in the woodland of Queensland, but I'm happy to share the fun! 

Happy discovering :)