Habitat

Currently they only live on a single Lord Howe Island Melaleuca on a rocky outcrop. Their are a range of habitats on Lord Howe Island which they may have previously inhabited. These include coastal vegetation, cloud forest and sub-tropical forests.

Reproduction

These animals have been found to form pair bonds on some occasions. A pair will sit side by side in a nest and the male will put three legs around the female. On other occasions pairs do not bond.

Following mating the female will deposit eggs that are about the size of a tic tac into the soil They begin white to pale cream but turn dark grey to black when they contact moisture. She begins laying the eggs about two weeks after hatching. This species may be able to reproduce pathenogenetically which means females is able to lay fertilized eggs without a male.

Eggs are laid in batches of 9-10 with a week between each. Over 300 eggs may be produced by a female over her lifetime.

Currently it is unknown how long it takes for an egg to hatch. Young stick insects (known as nymphs) are coloured bright green and measure 20mm (0.8in). In between hatching and adulthood they will moult five times.

Maturity is achieved at around seven months old.

Rescue Efforts

The Lord Howe Island stick insect had been considered extinct since 1918. A ship ran aground on the island during the early 20th century leading to the introduction of black rats onto the island. These eventually decimated the stick insect population.

In 2001 a trip to a volcanic spire known as Ball’s pyramid made the discovery of a colony of just twenty stick Lord Howe Island Stick Insects.

During 2003 a group went to the pyramid and brought back two breeding pairs of Lord Howe Island Stick Insects to be housed at two mainland collections.

One of these, Melbourne Zoo, has so far bred 9,000 of these insects. Their intention is that this insurance population will be reintroduced to Lord Howe Island once the rats have been eradicated.

In 2013 another trip was made to Ball's pyramid where a Lord Howe Island Stick Insect was collected and taken to Melbourne to assist with preventing inbreeding in the captive population.

Work has begun to eradicate the rats and it is hoped they will also be able to go home soon. There are also plans for another visit to Ball's Pyramid to confirm the presence of the population there.

Behavior

Nymphs are active during the day returning to their nests at night. As they grow they gradually become nocturnal.

Quick facts

This species is known as ‘the world’s rarest insect.’

Other name's for the Lord Howe Island stick insect include the giant Lord Howe Island stick insect and the land lobster.