Lord Howe Island stick insect
| Dryococelus australis | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Phasmatidae |
| Genus: | Dryococelus |
| Species: | D. australis |
| Binomial name | |
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Dryococelus australis (Montrouzier, 1855) |
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Dryococelus australis, commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect or tree lobster, is a species of stick insect which lives on the Lord Howe Island Group. It was thought to be extinct by 1920, only to be rediscovered in 2001. It is extinct in its largest 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.
Adult Lord Howe Island stick insects can measure up to 15 centimetres (6 in) in length and weigh 25 grams (1 oz), with females 25% smaller than males. They are oblong in shape and have sturdy legs. Males have thicker thighs than females. Unlike most phasmida, the insects have no wings, but are able to run quickly.
The behaviour of this stick insect is highly unusual for an insect species, in that the males and females form a bond.
The females lay eggs while hanging from branches. Hatching can happen up to nine months later. The nymphs are first bright green and active during the day, but as they mature, they turn black and become nocturnal.
Reproduction can happen without the presence of males (parthenogenesis) and this facility has allowed the species to survive when they are low in numbers.
The stick insects were once very common on Lord Howe Island, where they were used as bait in fishing. They became extinct there soon after black rats were introduced to the island in 1918 when the supply ship SS Makambo ran aground. The last one was seen on the island in 1920, and after that the species was thought to be extinct. In 1964, a team of climbers visiting Ball's Pyramid, a rocky sea stack 23 kilometres (14 mi) south-east of Lord Howe Island, discovered a dead Lord Howe Island stick insect. During subsequent years, a few more dead insects were discovered, but expeditions to find live specimens were unsuccessful.
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