Chinese Giant Stick Insect

Phryganistria chinensis was described in 2017 from a specimen collected in Guangxi, China. The female holotype measured 64 cm with legs fully extended — surpassing previous record-holder Phobaeticus chani and making it the longest insect ever discovered. Stick insects (order Phasmida) include over 3,000 species worldwide and have specialized in cryptic mimicry of plant material — twigs, bark, leaves, and lichen. Many species have additional defenses on top of camouflage: catalepsis (freezing motionless when disturbed for hours), reflex bleeding of toxic hemolymph, defensive sprays from thoracic glands, autotomy (shedding a leg to escape a predator's grip), and limb regeneration during subsequent molts. Reproduction in many phasmids is unusual: parthenogenesis (females producing fertile eggs without mating) is common, and several species have not produced a male specimen in field collections for decades or longer. Eggs are dropped to the forest floor and many species' eggs mimic plant seeds; some are even carried away and 'planted' by ants. Stick insects feature prominently in the captive insect-keeping hobby because of their dramatic appearance, gentle temperament, and easy husbandry on common foliage.