That's not a stick it's a branch! New species of supersized stick insect discovered in Australia
The stick insect, which is around 40cm (15.75 inches) long, was discovered in high-altitude trees in the mountainous Wet Tropics region of North Queensland.
The female specimen weighed 44g, less than a golf ball, but significantly heftier than Australia's heaviest insect, the giant wood moth, which gets up to 30g.
Footage shows the incredible wingspan of the stick insect, which is a similar length to a small bird.
The new species, named Acrophylla alta, is roughly the same size as a barn owl or a wood pigeon.
James Cook University's Angus Emmott, who helped identify the species, said the creature's large size could be an evolutionary response to its cool, wet habitat.
He said: 'Their body mass likely helps them survive the colder conditions, and that's why they've developed into this large insect over millions of years.'
The remote habitat was probably also why it had remained undiscovered for so long, Emmott added.
Emmott continued: 'They live high up in the rainforest canopy, and accessing that is almost impossible.
'You've got to wait until, for instance, a bird knocks one down or you get a big storm and they get knocked down. It's very, very hard to find them in situ.'
He added that while females have wings, they are 'not really great flyers' because of their 'heavy bodies'.
The next step in identifying and eventually naming the species is finding a male, which is proving difficult, and not just because they are as thin as a stick.
Male stick insects tend to be significantly smaller and are so visually distinct from females that they have previously been regarded not only as a different species, but as a different genus altogether.
Emmott said: 'You really need to find the male copulating with the female.
'You know what it is then, and you collect the eggs and you can actually ascertain that they're one of the same thing.'
The eggs of the newly-discovered stick insect were key to its identification, as no two species' eggs are the same.
Emmott said: 'Every species of stick insect has their own distinct egg style.
'They've all got different surfaces and different textures and pitting, and they can be different shapes. Even the caps on them are all very unique.'
The stick insect specimen, along with another female, are now in the Queensland Museum's collection.
Stick insects tend to be quite still in daylight hours to avoid being preyed on by birds, so researchers traipse through the rainforest at night with head torches for the best chance of glimpsing them.
Currently, their average lifespan remains uncertain.
Emmott said: 'We don't actually don't know that yet, but I imagine only a couple of years maximum.
'Because, yes, there's a lot of pressure on them with birds looking for them and eating them all the time, and I guess that's why they're so cryptic.'
The depth and density of life in Queensland's rainforests mean untold numbers of insect species remain undefined or undiscovered.
Emmott continued: 'Up here in the tropics, in northern Australia, we've got so many insects that are as yet undescribed.
'For instance, I've got an undescribed cicada in the garden here that a friend of mine is in the process of describing, and I've been working on the moths up here as quite a number of them are undescribed.'
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