Ctenomorpha chronus (Gray, 1833)

Adult female
(Lea, 1902)

Common Name:

Delete this section if there is no common name.

Identification:

Length: 176mm. Coloring: Note any distinguishing features.

male volant and mesopterous, female brachypterous

The wings of this insect are small and black, more or less obscurely spotted with white; the costal area is green, irregularly marked with black, but with the base of a lighter colour, and the black markings more distinct; the head, prothorax and legs are light pinkish brown, the latter very much dentated; the mesothorax, tegmina, abdomen and leaflets, are blackish green; the former has small black tubercles; the abdomen is spotted with black at the tip of each segment, which is also somewhat dilated, while the leaflets are rather long and dentated. (from Gray, 1833)

seems to resemble eucalypt twigs or stems. Males are slender and fully winged. The females are much larger and have very short tegmina and very dark brown or blackish hind wings and very long cerci.

Campbell & Hadlington, 1967
Note parental placement of eggs. Note appearance of eggs. Note any common variations.

Habitat:

Note if the species arborial or terrestrial. Canopy, mid, under, etc.

Note typical vegetation, e.g. tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest, grasslands, alpine, etc.

Similar Species:

Ctenomorphodes tessulata is physically very similar, the best differentiator is the shape of the eggs.

Rearing Notes:

Note if this species has ever been reared. Note any suggestions for successful rearing.

For a stick insect with body length 176mm, to keep 2 adult females, you need a cage at least 800mm high, 350mm deep and 350mm wide.

Range:

quite common in heath and woodland habitats from central New South Wales south to Victoria.

NE coastal, SE coastal, S Gulfs, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA

Status:

References

Balderson, J., Rentz, D.C.F. and Roach, A.M.E. (1998). in Houston, W.K.K. & Wells, A. (1998) (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 23. Archaeognatha, Zygentoma, Blattodea, Isoptera, Mantodea, Dermaptera, Phasmatodea, Embioptera, Zoraptera. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, Australia (ISBN 0643 06035 9). pp. 347 - 376.
Brock, P.D. (1999). Review, Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Bulletin of the Amateur Entomological Society, 58: 177-178.
Campbell, K. G., Hadlington, P., 1967. The biology of the three species of phasmatids which occur in plague numbers in forests of south eastern Australia. Forestry Commission NSW Res. Note No. 20, 38 pp.
Clark, J.T. (1976). The eggs of stick insects (Phasmida): a review with descriptions of the eggs of eleven species. Syst. Ent. 1: 95-105.
Hughes, L., 1996. When an Insect is more like a Plant. Nature Australia, 25(4): 30-38
Gray, G.R. (1833). The Entomology of Australia in a Series of Monographs. Part 1. The monograph of the genus Phasma. London: Longman & Co. 28 pp. 8 pls
Gray, G.R. (1834). Descriptions of several species of Australian Phasmata. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, i, 1 (November 7), pp. 45-46.
Gray, G.R. (1835). ‘Synopsis of the Species of Insects Belonging to the Family of Phasmidae.’ 48pp. (Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman: London.)
Lea, A.M. (1902). Notes on some remarkable Tasmanian invertebrates. Pap. Proc. Royal Society of Tasmania, 1902: 81-82.
Readshaw, J. L. (1965). A theory of Phasmatid outbreak release. Australian Journal of Zoology, 13: 475-90
Rainbow, W.J. (1897). Catalogue of the described Phasmidae of Australia. Records of the Australian Museum, 3(2), 37-44. [Note that he made a mistake re Extatosoma popa and E. tiaratum according to Gurney, A.B. (1947). Notes on some remarkable Australasian walkingsticks, including a synopsis of the Genus Extatosoma (Orthoptera: Phasmatidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 40(3): 373-396. .]
Rentz, D.C.F (1996). Grasshopper Country, Chapter 16, Phasmatodea: Leaf and Stick Insects, pp. 244-257
Tepper, J.G.O. (1887). Description of a supposed new species of Phasmidæ. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 9 (1885-86): 112-113, pl. vi. [Published March, 1887.] [I already have the text of this one, but I need plate VI.]
Tepper, J.G.O. (1902). List of the Described Genera and Species of the Australian and Polynesian Phasmidæ (Spectre-Insects). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 26: 278-287.
Vickery, V.R. (1983). Catalogue of Australian stick insects (Phasmida, Phasmatodea, Phasmatoptera, or Cheleutoptera). CSIRO Australian Division of Entomology Technical Paper, No. 20, 15 pp.
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Synonyms:

Acrophylla chronus Kaup, 1871
Acrophylla scutigera Redtenbacher, 1908
Acrophylla tasmanensis Lea, 1902
Ctenomorpha marginipenne Gray, 1833
Ctenomorpha marginipennis Gray, 1833
Ctenomorpha oxyacantha Redtenbacher, 1908
Ctenomorpha phyllocerca Redtenbacher, 1908
Diura chronus Gray, 1833
Lopaphus macrotegmus Tepper, 1887