Bug FAQMalayan Jungle Nymph
Heteropteryx dilatata · Order: Phasmida · Family: Heteropterygidae
Also called: Jungle Nymph, giant spiny leaf insect
Females are large, 14 to 17 cm long and weigh 30 to 65 g, while males are slimmer at 9 to 13 cm. They are typically lime-green but can also be yellow or rarely red-brown, and their hind wings cover the whole abdomen. Native to the Malay Archipelago, they are nocturnal leaf-eaters that feed on bramble, oak, hazel and ivy.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Females are usually lime green, but yellow and occasionally red-brown forms exist. The hind wings fully cover the abdomen and the forewings form narrow tegmina with a light front edge, creating lateral stripes when closed.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Females reach 14 to 17 cm in length and weigh 30 to 65 g. Males are smaller, about 9 to 13 cm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The species originates from the Malay Archipelago and is active at night.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It feeds on a variety of leaves, including bramble (blackberry and raspberry), oak, hazel and ivy.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay individual eggs in the ground with their ovipositor. Eggs hatch after 7 to 14 months, and after about a year the nymph molts to the adult stage. Adult insects live for roughly 6 to 24 months.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are nocturnal and can live up to two years in captivity.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to the Malay Archipelago, found on the Malay Peninsula, Thailand, Singapore, Sumatra and Sarawak on Borneo.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Their eggs are 0.7 to 0.8 cm long, 0.5 cm wide and weigh about 70 mg, compared with the heavier 250 to 300 mg eggs of the related Haaniella echinata.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
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Questions people ask
What colors do they have?
They are usually lime green, but yellow and rare red-brown forms also occur.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are they native to?
They come from the Malay Archipelago, including the Malay Peninsula, Thailand, Singapore, Sumatra and Sarawak on Borneo.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteropteryx
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.