Aspects on Life History of Eurycantha insularis Lucas (Phasmida : Phasmatidae) from Papua New Guinea

The oil palm stick insect is a sporadic pest but occasionally a serious defoliator of oil palm in Northern (Oro) Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG), although it seldom causes significant damage to warrant any chemical intervention. There are currently two recorded egg parasitoids and one, (possibly two) entomophagous fungi that attack the adults. Parasitoids are not currently being reared as biological control agents. Adults and nymphs are often collected from oil palm cooked and eaten by the local people, especially children. Except for the taxonomy, the biology of this species is not fully understood; and this study attempts to fill in part of this information gap. Egg incubation period is 80 days. Five nymphal instars were identified for males and six for females. Males complete developmental stage in 97 days whilst females in 118 days. Female adults survived only slightly longer than males being 48 and 35 days respectively. Any control efforts should target nymphal stages to break the breeding cycle. Keywords: Oil palm, stick insect, parasitoids, Northern Province, PNG, biology.