04 June 2012

Megaphasma



Ok, I know this is yet another photo that doesn't come from my garden, but I have to share it anyway. I came across this giant walkingstick, Megaphasma dentricus, down at the greenbelt this weekend. It's giant! It's mega! What a fascinating creature.



The poor thing had lost one of its legs at some point, but perhaps that is a small price to pay for avoiding predation or whatever led to that. This species holds the record as the longest insect in the U.S. From head to tail, this one is about 6.5 inches. Like I said, mega.

5 comments:

Jodi Pharo said...

amazing. love it!

Northern Shade said...

What an intriguing looking insect. I can imagine how well it would camouflage itself in the shrubs, until the twig started moving.

Carla said...

Wowzers! Great photos.

Lori said...

HOLY COW! And I thought the ones on my front porch last summer were big!

Anonymous said...

Iirc, that is a female. The males are typically smaller and brown in color