Malayan Jungle Nymph - Female

Description:

Female of Phasmid, Heteropteryx dilatata. Large and impressive specie not for the length but for its largeness and total body weight. They are very spiny throughout their body and also their legs. The hind legs are very sturdy and long with sharp spines. They can be very aggressive and when threatened, they can snap their hind legs like scissors and this can cause serious wounds. Females have small wings which she can also 'vibrate' to make some sounds when threatened. Females grows to as big as 25 cm in body length but this particular spotting is smaller, just around 18 cm.

Habitat:

Tropical forest

Notes:

This specie holds the world record as the heaviest Phasmid in the world, with body weight up to 65 gm. Their Eggs also has one of the longest incubation period (according to wikipedia) with up to 14 months, that's longer than a human baby! Although being the largest Phasmid, their Eggs are not the heaviest, this record goes to Haaniella echinata : http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/434... whose Eggs weighs up to 0.3 gm and 12 mm in length. Isn't it interesting that the World Longest Phasmid and World Largest (in weight) Phasmid both comes from Malaysia? :D