These fantastic animals are giant AUSTRALIAN PRICKLY STICK INSECTS, a species which is also known as MACLEAY'S SPECTRE.  Apart from the common Indian or laboratory stick insects these were the first species I ever kept, and they have remained a firm favourite of mine throughout the years due to their unusual appearance, variation in colour and fascinating life cycle.  The two in the picture below are both females and not yet adults, they are at different stages of their development and quite different in colour as you can see!

Adult males and females look rather different from each other, with the female shown in the top three pictures below and the male at the very bottom.  Females are large, heavy and unable to fly whereas males are much more slender, have fully developed wings and can fly quite well!

The eggs, or ova, of this species are very attractive and take between 5 and 8 months to hatch:

When they do hatch the babies or nymphs are very active indeed and spend their time running around and feeding on the selection of fresh Eucalyptus and bramble leaves which I provide for them.  They are black with a red head and look quite a bit like ants!