Tessellated Stick Insect (female)

Description:

One good reason why I bring my washing in before dark. This is a Tessellated Stick Insect, and because of its overall size and antennae length, is easily identified as a female. Males are smaller, but have longer antennae. Males can also fly, whereas the females can't. They are a common species of stick insect endemic to the Brisbane area. They usually feed on eucalyptus, but also adapt to other trees and grasses. Most other species of stick insects usually are low in population, but this species is known to occur in plague proportion from time to time. The name comes from the dark black tessellations, which resemble small spines on the thorax. PS: I estimate the total length of this female to be 28-29 cms (around 11 inches) from tip of the outstretched forelegs (right of the photo) to the tail fillaments. She's quite a large specimen.

Habitat:

Found clinging to my washing, beneath a large chinese elm tree, in a leafy suburban backyard in inner-city Brisbane.

Notes:

Here's a male I spotted elsewhere in Brisbane - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/254...