 A Lord Howe Island Phasmid
|
Sept. 11, 2003 — What is believed to be the world's rarest insect has begun breeding at Australia's Melbourne Zoo, officials said Tuesday.
A female Lord Howe Island phasmid, a type of stick insect, began laying eggs in February with the first one hatching on Sunday, said Patrick Honan, a zoo official.
About 100 eggs are still incubating at the zoo, he said.
|
 
|
|||||||
The Lord Howe Island phasmid belongs to a group of ancient invertebrates nicknamed "Jurassic insects."
Besides the breeding pair at Melbourne Zoo, there are no other adults of the species in captivity anywhere in the world.
The species was believed to be extinct for more than 80 years after rats introduced to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, about 700 kilometers (420 miles) east of Australia, killed the flightless insects off in 1918.
But a scientific expedition in 2001 discovered some of the insects surviving in harsh conditions on Ball's Pyramid, a huge rocky outcrop located near Lord Howe Island.
< news main
Name: Lord Howe Island Phasmid (Dryococelus australis)
Primary Classification: Phasmatidae (Stick Insects) Location: Ball's Pyramid off Australia's Lord Howe Island. Habitat: Tropical rainforest among tree trunks, foliage and leaf litter. Diet: Leaves and other vegetation. Size: Up to 4.7 inches in length. Description: Dark, reddish-brown body. Long, thick, cigar-shaped body. No wings. Males have thick, spiny hind legs. Cool Facts: Females can reproduce without male assistance in a process known as parthenogenesis, through which unfertilized eggs hatch as clones of the female that laid them. Conservation Status: Critically Endangered Major Threat: Habitat loss and exotic species (rats.) What Can I Do?: Visit Insektus and the Lord Howe Island Tourism Association for information on how you can help. |
||
