Naming newly discovered giant insect a sticking point
A new species of stick insect found in Queensland’s high altitude rainforests is believed to be Australia’s heaviest insect, but naming it could prove tricky.
What could be Australiaâs heaviest insect has been discovered in northern Australiaâs high altitude rainforests.
The supersized stick insect, about 40cm long, was discovered in high altitude trees in Millaa Millaa in Queenslandâs Atherton Tablelands and identified by James Cook University researcher Angus Emmott and wildlife expert Ross Coupland.
âThey live high up in the rainforest canopy, and accessing that is almost impossible,â Professor Emmott told AAP.
âYouâve got to wait until, for instance, a bird knocks one down or you get a big storm and they get knocked down. Itâs very, very hard to find them in situ.â
The female specimen weighed 44g, just less than a golf ball, but significantly heftier than Australiaâs heaviest insect, the up-to 30g giant wood moth.
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âThe females have wings, but because of their heavy bodies theyâre not really great flyers,â Prof Emmott said.
The specimen, along with another female, are now in Queensland Museumâs collection.
The next step in identifying and eventually naming the species is finding a male, which is proving difficult, and not just because they are as thin as a stick.
Male stick insects tend to be significantly smaller and visually distinct from females that in other cases pairs have been described not only as different species, but different from a different genus altogether.
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âYou really need to find the male copulating with the female,â Prof Emmott said.
âYou know what it is then and you collect the eggs and you can actually ascertain that theyâre one of the same thing.â
The eggs of the newly-discovered stick insect were key to its identification, as no two speciesâ eggs are the same.
Stick insects tend to be quite still in daylight hours to avoid predation by birds, so researchers traipse through the rainforest at night with head torches for the best chance of glimpsing them.
Likewise, their lifespan remains somewhat camouflaged.
âWe donât actually donât know that yet, but I imagine only a couple of years maximum,â he said.
âBecause, yes, thereâs a lot of pressure on them with birds looking for them and eating them all the time, and I guess thatâs why theyâre so cryptic.â
The depth and density of life in Queenslandâs rainforests mean untold numbers of insect species remain undefined or undiscovered.
âUp here in the tropics, in northern Australia, weâve got so many insects that are as yet undescribed,â Prof Emmott said.
âFor instance, Iâve got an undescribed cicada in the garden here that a friend of mine is in the process of describing, and Iâve been working on the moths up here as quite a number of them are undescribed.â
-with AAP
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