Giant Leaf Insect

• It walks while rocking back and forth to mimic a leaf stirred by the breeze, so that the camouflage does not break down as it moves.
• Only females are known: it reproduces by parthenogenesis, and the unfertilised eggs always give rise to more females.
• Its eggs look like seeds and are dropped to the ground, where they lie for months before hatching, one more layer of camouflage.
• Its mimicry is among the most complete in the animal kingdom: the flattened, broadened body imitates a leaf, with marked venation, irregular edges as if nibbled by insects, and brown patches simulating dry or diseased areas.
• And it adds movement: it sways rhythmically as it walks, imitating a leaf stirred by the breeze.
• It is one of the largest leaf insect species: the female exceeds 10 cm.
• Only females are known. The species is obligately parthenogenetic, and to this day no male has been described with certainty.
• The eggs also imitate seeds, in shape and surface, and are dispersed by falling to the forest floor.
• Its front legs bear flattened, blade-like expansions that complete the outline, so that the silhouette of the whole animal, legs included, looks like a leaf.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat and environment

Canopy and understorey of Malaysian rainforest

Birth weight

Egg of 34 mg on average, the largest and heaviest of all the leaf insects

Size at birth

Egg 8.5 mm long by 4 mm wide, blackish or brown and glossy, looking like a seed; the nymph hatches reddish brown and turns green as soon as it starts to feed

Sexual maturity

The female begins to lay between one month and a month and a half after the final moult

Gestation / incubation

The eggs take 6 to 9 months to hatch, with a recorded range of 5.5 to 14 months depending on conditions; the nymph reaches adult size and sexual maturity at seven months

Litter / clutch size

It breeds by parthenogenesis: the female lays unfertilised eggs from which females genetically identical to her hatch. She lays roughly one egg a day for about three months, dropping it to the ground with a flick of the abdomen

Sources consulted: Hennemann et al., revisiones de Phylliidae; Phasmid Study Group; Museo de Historia Natural de Londres; Ficha de especie de Pulchriphyllium giganteum; guias de cria; Monaco Nature Encyclopedia; Monaco Nature Encyclopedia, ficha Phyllium giganteum; ficha de especie; Guias de cria de Pulchriphyllium giganteum; Ficha de especie de Pulchriphyllium giganteum (Seiler, Bradler & Koch 2000)