New Zealand Giant Stick Insect

Argosarchus horridus · Order: Phasmida · Family: Phasmatidae

Also called: Bristly Stick Insect, Horrid Stick-insect, New Zealand bristly stick insect, The Horrid Stick Insect

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.

New Zealand Giant Stick Insect — Photo: Jon Sullivan, CC BY

Females can grow up to about 20 cm, while males are shorter and slimmer, usually around 10 cm. They are found throughout much of the North Island, parts of the South Island and several offshore islands, living from sea level up to at least 900 m.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The base of the front legs (coxa) is purple or pink, and the body colour ranges from pale white to dark brown; females are usually grey and males dark greenish-brown or brown.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Females can reach up to 20 cm, though most are 12 to 15 cm long. Males are slimmer and typically up to 10 cm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They occur from sea level up to at least 900 m in coastal areas.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults hatch in early summer and feed by hanging from their host plant. Nymphs look like small adults and also feed on the same plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The species can reproduce without males (facultative parthenogenesis). Nymphs molt through six instars before reaching adulthood.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults appear in early summer and are mainly active at night; males search for females then.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Argosarchus spiniger is now considered the same species as A. horridus. On the Chatham Islands only females occur; this population was once named A. schauinslandi.

Source: Wikipedia