Yellow Crazy Ant vs Unarmed Stick Insect

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow Crazy Ant Unarmed Stick Insect
Scientific Name Anoplolepis gracilipes Clitarchus tepaki
Order Hymenoptera Phasmatodea
Family Formicidae Phasmatidae
Size 4-5 mm 6-9 cm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Fruit Feeders Herbivores
Regions Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Australia New Zealand (Northland)
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Yellow Crazy Ant

A long-legged, fast-moving invasive ant named for its erratic running pattern. They form supercolonies with multiple queens that can devastate island ecosystems.

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Did You Know?

On Christmas Island they killed millions of native red crabs, fundamentally altering the island's entire ecosystem.

Unarmed Stick Insect

A smooth-bodied stick insect endemic to the far north of New Zealand. It is slimmer than its relative Clitarchus hookeri.

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Did You Know?

It is restricted to the northernmost tip of New Zealand's North Island around Cape Reinga.