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Big Stick Insect
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 6:21 AM
Hey there.
More than 30cm long, including legs. For sure one of the longest insects in the world.
When it saw me, it starting to move in my direction, leaving the handrail, and trying to grab my lens!
Found during the morning, on the handrail of the plank walk.
Joana Garrido
Niah National Park, Sarawak, Borneo

Walkingstick

Hi Joana,
Thank you for sending us your spectacular images. This Walkingstick is so delicate looking. While it may be one of the longest insects in the world, it definitely falls into the rail-thin fashion model category. That headshot is priceless. We will try to get a species identification.

Walkingstick

Update: Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Daniel:
What an amazing creature! I can’t be certain about this one (I think I will continue looking) but it looks like it is probably in the genus Phobaeticus, possibly P. kirbyi. The genus has the distinction of having the two longest insects in the world (the record holder is P. chani, also from Borneo). According to Wikipedia, the holotype for P. kirbyi “…measures 328 millimetres (12.9 in) excluding legs and 546 millimetres (21.5 in) including legs. This makes it the second longest known insect in terms of body length, behind Phobaeticus chani with 357 millimetres (14.1 in).” The specimen in the photo looks like it is probably a male, which are typically smaller and less robust than the females. The following link connects to the best image I was able to find, showing a mating pair (it’s a little hard to figure out the tangle). Regards.
Karl
Link: http://phasmatodea.com/index. php?module=xd_gallery&func= image&xdpage=&xgi=1433&xgc=356

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