The peppermint stick insect of Tropical Northern Australia is an intriguing creature. When alarmed it defends itself by emitting a strong distinctively minty aroma.
The females are much larger than the males, both have wings although the males have larger wings and will travel to find a female.
Rarely seen, they live in small pockets of coastal lowland rainforest with two colonies confirmed at Etty Bay an hour south of Cairns and also at CapeTribulation in the north. Their host plant is the native pandanus and their vibrant green colouring helps them to camouflage to their surroundings.
A number of these interesting insects are able to be viewed at the Australian Insect Farm at Daintree Village, north of Cairns.
