Sub Family: Phasmatinae

Foodplant in captivity: Eucalyptus (they tend to prefer species with hair-free leaves, such as E. gunnii).  They will sometimes accept other food plants, such as bramble, but these should only be used in an emergency as they probably do not satisfy the species' nutrition needs.

Humidity requirements: I personally have success keeping this species in a fully- or partially-ventilated cage, with daily spraying of luke-warm water (this species drinks a lot).

Comment: This is by far my favourite species of phasmid.  Many people have problems rearing Eurycnema goliath, but personally I have only really had problems with a low hatch rate of the ova; the insects themselves seem to thrive under my care. Having said that, I have had a total of three females experience a bad final moult, in which they fall off the branch whilst moulting and subsequently come out all deformed (see picture).  The prognosis of these deformed goliaths isn't too bad, so long as they are able to cling to a branch and eat food.  I don't know why this species seems to be prone to these bad moults - in one instance I know that the moulting insect was knocked from her perch by another insect, but in another instance the goliath was alone when she moulted.

 Needs to be kept in a tall cage.

Length of males (head to abdomen) = ~13cm; length of females = ~18-20cm.  Both males and females have long wings, with bright-red membranous hindwings.  They both have attractive apple-green stripy bodies.  The nymphal instars are a dull brown colour, which presumably aids camouflage.

Defence tactics: Camouflage; 'pinching' with their spiny hind legs; flashing their bright-red hind wings; using wings to glide away (males); flicking frass or ova in the face of predators; flashing the 'eye spots' that are found towards the top of the femur of adult females.

(E. goliath on left).