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Anchiale briareus
A young adult Goliath stick insect - the second largest stick insect in Australia. This one has deformed/undeveloped front pair of legs. Another is shown with the front legs. Found on an acacia, which was covered in almost 100 of these insects in various stages of development
Open forest Australia-wide, except in the colder southern states.
Thank you martinl :) So many different kinds, its hard to know which one is which!
That's a super spotting Asterope. I have bred goliaths and mine were all grey colored until their final molt, when they become bright yellow/green. Yours is smaller and still a nymph, we can tell this because it has no wings yet. It will molt one more time and grow wings and hopefully new front legs during this molt. It is female. Leg loss is common when they are overcrowded. She may possibly have been disturbed during her last molt. I have bred the strong stick insect too and those yellow dotted tubercules on its thorax are typical.