What do we have here ?
March 12, 2012
Spot the insect ! – and what is it ? Knowing little about insects, we consulted a local guru who assured us it is a species of grasshopper, not a stick or leaf insect as we initially thought.
Can anyone confirm or dispute this ?
When amongst bark and leaf litter it was close to invisible, but lost much of its camouflage effect when it hopped on to our gravel driveway.
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Focus On Fauna 
I think this is a cricket more than a stick insect. We had a stick insect in Knoxfield in the middle of February. I thought it was a twigg! I will send to David W.
A grasshopper it is and it has a name. I went straight to Donald Hobern’s grasshoppers page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhobern/sets/72157611611029261/), which then took me, by Googling Acrids conica, to Brisbane Insects (http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_grasshoppers/Longheaded.htm). Apparently its called a Giant Green Slantface (Acrida conica), but can you believe that name! Why not, for example, the Large-nosed Grasshopper, or the Long-headed, or Spur-throated, the last two of which are apparently alternatives (and preferable).
Giant Green Slantface indeed! So why is ours brown? Can it change its colour for camouflage?
Colour probably related to age, or perhaps habitat (camouflage).