It was rediscovered in a volcano

stick insect Lord Howe (Dryococelus australis) was presumed extinct for decades. It was once abundant on Lord Howe Island, hence its name. They were so plentiful, in fact, that local fishermen used them as bait.

However, the species eventually became extinct after a plague of rat ships invaded the island in 1918. Although they were just innocent stowaways on the supply ship SS Makambo, the rats quickly spread. They hunted the native fauna, and also drove D. australis (and many other endemic creatures) to local extinction.

By the early 1930s, the species was considered extinct worldwide. Museum specimens collected at the end of the 19th century were considered the “last known” representatives of the species. For decades, no one had any reason to believe the insect could have survived—and yet, somehow, it did.

The Lord Howe Stick insect was found alive in a solitary pile

It was in 2001 when the rediscovery took place that stunned the scientific world. A team of biologists and physiologists climbed the steep cliffs of Ball’s pyramid: a volcanic remnant that rises almost 550 meters from the sea, about 23 km from Lord Howe Island. It was under a single wind-blown bush (a type of tea tree, Melaleuca Howeana), hidden among rocky grooves and crevices, which found live stick insects.

Regardless of the fact that there weren’t many people, they were undeniably alive. The insects were gigantic, nocturnal, and unmistakable – although they were a little darker and sturdier than the original specimens. Given this small question, researchers were forced to ask: Were they really the same species? Or a close relative?

That answer to that question will take them another 16 years to uncover.

Proof that the Lord Howe Stick Insect survived

Skeptics had every right to question whether or not the insects discovered in Ball’s pyramid were really the same as those from Lord Howe Island. After all, the island’s population had been wiped out decades ago, and the Pyramid bugs seemed darker, denser, and almost as if they lacked the delicacy seen in the museum specimens.

Then, in 2017, a genetic analysis was published on Current Biology provided the answer: the ball pyramid population and historical Lord Howe Island samples share nearly identical mitochondrial genomes. There was a smaller variation of 1%, which is well within the expected variation for a single species over nearly a century.

In other words, this finding confirmed that the rediscovered insects are, indeed, legitimate survivors of D. australis. Not only was it a powerful vindication for the species, but it was also a rare example of “extinction by survival.” Here’s how they did it:

1. A predator-free sanctuary. Ball’s Pyramid is a harsh, barren stack of sea with nearly vertical cliffs and little vegetation. There are no rats, or any other type of predator for that matter. It’s just salt spray, wind and some stunted bushes. This isolation would be brutal for most lives, but it proved perfect for the stick insect. In the absence of rats, the insects could persist.
2. A single bush as shelter. Reports indicate that the entire known population may have survived under or around a hardy bush: M. howeana. It was this little patch of green, stuck to the rock, that provided the insects with food and shelter. It is remarkable to think that a species that was once common in a forest lived for decades in a bush on a rocky wall.
3. Biological resistance. In 2023 study from Genome Biology and Evolutionthat looked at the species’ life history and mating, found traits that improve survival in small populations. These included slow reproductive cycles, long adult lifespans, and the ability to mate easily in low-density conditions.

Some early breeding observations raised the question of whether Dryococelus australis may be capable of occasional parthenogenesis—a trait common to many stick insects where females can lay viable eggs without successful mating—but no peer-reviewed study has confirmed this, and genomic evidence suggests that the species reproduces primarily sexually.

Captive breeding and rehabilitation efforts for the Lord Howe stick insect

Before those answers even arrived, conservationists were doing everything they could to protect the species. In 2003, a small number of Lord Howe Island stick insects (actually two breeding pairs) were taken from Ball’s pyramid for a captive breeding program. A pair went to a private breeder in Sydney. another went to a public detention facility.

These marked the first steps towards population recovery and, in time, the program eventually flourished. Thousands of eggs were collected and incubated, and by 2016 the captive population had produced over 13,000 hatchlings.

These efforts have changed D. australis from “probably the world’s rarest insect” to a species with a robust ex situ population, raising hopes of eventual reintroduction once its native habitat is restored and cleared of invasive predators.

However, the research revealed a dark side to keeping such a fragile species indoors. A pathology 2018 study found that bacterial pathogens such as Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa contributed to insect mortality in captivity during this breeding program. Microbiological 2024 study identified even more strains of entomopathogenic bacteria that could threaten wild populations if they were to be accidentally transferred during reintroduction.

These studies highlight a critical point: you can’t just breed insects in captivity and release them. We must release them safely.

What’s Next for the Lord Howe Stick Insect?

In the decades since the insects’ erroneously presumed extinction, Lord Howe Island has undergone a massive ecological recovery project. This includes a major rat eradication campaign that was completed in 2019. As a result, many species that were once considered doomed are recovering.

Now, both scientists and conservation authorities are preparing for the important next step: reintroduction D. australis returns to his homeland for the first time in more than a century. To do so safely, they must rely on all possible recent research on:

• genomic diversity
• captive-evolution findings
• pathogenic risks
• ecological modeling
• host plant restoration

Lord Howe’s wand insect – once thought extinct, lost to history – clung to survival in a narrow volcanic spire, hidden from the world and protected by its own fragility. Thanks to courage, luck and modern science, he can take wings again, or at least once again roam his birthplace.

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