Giant Prickly Stick Insect

Extatosoma tiaratum

The giant prickly stick insect (Extatosoma tiaratum), often called the spiny leaf insect, is a large Australian phasmid whose females have bulky, thorny bodies and curled leaflike posture. Males are slimmer, winged, and more mobile. Nymphs mimic ants when newly hatched, then develop the slow swaying movements and plantlike camouflage typical of stick insects. Females can reproduce without males, although mated eggs produce both sexes and may support stronger colony management.

This species is popular in classrooms and invertebrate collections because it feeds on accessible browse such as eucalyptus, bramble, oak, or rose, depending on local availability and safety. Housing should be tall, ventilated, escape-resistant, and roomy enough for clean molts. Fresh leaves must be pesticide-free and kept from trapping young nymphs in water containers. Keepers manage egg collection, incubation time, overcrowding, and disposal responsibly, since unwanted insects should not be released. Gentle handling is possible, but heavy females can be injured by falls.