Animal of the week – Lord Howe Island stick insect

Lord Howe Island stick insect
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Phasmatidae
Dryococelus australis

The Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) was thought to be extinct by 1930, only to be rediscovered in 2001 (this phenomenon is known as the “Lazarus effect”). It is extinct in its largest habitat, Lord Howe Island. It has been called “the rarest insect in the world”, as the rediscovered population consisted of fewer than 20 individuals living on the small islet of Ball’s Pyramid. Adult Lord Howe Island stick insects can measure up to 15 cm in length and weigh 25 g with females bigger than males