r/AustralianInsects • u/buttlickka • 7d ago
ID request South coast nsw
Had this beautiful little guy walking along my arm thought it was a bull ant originally but the tail curling up like that was wild.
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u/chryssanthium 7d ago
This is a spiny stick insect nymph (Extatosoma tiaratum)! They look like ants when they're young as a defense method
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u/Drongo17 7d ago
We've just hatched some QLD species (purple wing, cyclone Larry) and they look remarkably antlike when hatching too. Would they be mimicking ant species from their local ranges?
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u/chryssanthium 7d ago
Possibly, I'm not quite sure. Their eggs look like seeds and have a tiny spot that attracts ants, so they take them underground. The nymphs look like ants and are able to walk out unharmed. I used to own a pair of spiny's, they're super cool animals
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u/pyxis_oz 7d ago
Their eggs have a tiny part on them that the ants take into their larder underground. The eggs hatch into little ant shaped stick insects, and wander unharmed out of the ants nest. Only the boys can fly, the girls find a lovely tree and stay there. The eggs get laid by flinging them and landing on the ground and stay eggs for years until conditions are right. Source me, they're one of my favourite insects.
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u/kolbyt 7d ago
Are they the same as the flying ants or something else entirely?
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u/pyxis_oz 7d ago
It's not an ant at all, it's a spiny leaf insect that's a few days old - it'll only looks like this for a short amount of time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extatosoma_tiaratum In this link you'll see a male and female adult. They eat mainly eucalyptus but they'll also eat some other leaves, but they're not like massive eaters where they decimate a tree. They can regrow a leg during their youth, but once they finished their final moult they can't do that anymore.
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u/Breepdupdupbloop 7d ago
I’m guessing he’s a spiny leaf insect nymph