Hot on the heels of the Giant Weta, another big honking Antipodean insect is in the news: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years
Dryococelus australis (also known as the Lord Howe Island Phasmid and sometimes dubbed the "tree lobster,") thought to be extinct, is alive! And prospering! And romantic!
Eradicated by invasive rats from its only previously known habitat on Lord Howe Island, it improbably survived on a lone shrubbery nestled in a windswept crag of this romantic island:
After confirming rumors of the insects' presence, scientists scaled this rockface after dark on Valentine's Day 2003 to collect specimens, from which a breeding program has been established. Observations of the insects snuggling in captivity reveal that "they sleep at night, in pairs, the male with three of his legs protectively over the female beside him."
Vive l'amour!
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| Two tree lobsters, perched atop Patrick Honan of the Melbourne Zoo. Photo by Rod Morris/rodmorris.co.nz, via NPR.org |
Dryococelus australis (also known as the Lord Howe Island Phasmid and sometimes dubbed the "tree lobster,") thought to be extinct, is alive! And prospering! And romantic!
Eradicated by invasive rats from its only previously known habitat on Lord Howe Island, it improbably survived on a lone shrubbery nestled in a windswept crag of this romantic island:
 |
| Ball's Pyramid, by John White, via NPR.org |
After confirming rumors of the insects' presence, scientists scaled this rockface after dark on Valentine's Day 2003 to collect specimens, from which a breeding program has been established. Observations of the insects snuggling in captivity reveal that "they sleep at night, in pairs, the male with three of his legs protectively over the female beside him."
Vive l'amour!
