Also known as the "Giant Prickly Stick Insect" or "Spiny Leaf Insect", the Macleay's Spectre Stick is a large stick insect that will make a nice addition to any hobbyist's collection. Stick insects are also known as phasmids. The word phasmid comes from the order Phasmatodea.

Though spiny and fearful looking, the Macleay's Spectre Stick is basically harmless and does not generally sting. They should, however, be handled very carefully, as they are quite prickly. The Macleay's Spectre Stick prefers temperatures approximating 75 degrees Fahrenheit, this is easy to achieve since it is close to normal room temperature. Newborns prefer higher temperatures. They enjoy a wide variety of foods including, bramble, eucalyptus, photinia, hawthorn, raspberry, oak, rose, and pyrocantha. If you can afford and easily obtain eucalyptus, you will have larger and more colorful females. Bramble-fed females are weaker and smaller. Thick branches should be used for feed, since they will allow the females to hand underneath them.

The Macleay's Spectre Stick is a large stick insect. In both color and shape, the Macleay's Spectre Stick's legs resemble dried leaves. They possess tiny spines on the head, body, and legs along with leaf-like appendages, which extend from the legs and abdomen. They are usually colored pale tan, though coloration can vary depending on temperature, food, and humidity. The males and females of this species are easy to distinguish. Females are thicker and longer than males, and though they have wings, they cannot fly. Males measure about four inches in length and they are slender with long wings capable of downward flight. Females are larger, measuring approximately six inches in length. The female will curl her tail over her body and snap with their back legs in a defensive 'scorpion posture'. Males have a smooth abdominal area and females are more spiny. The average weight of this beautiful insect is approximately 25 grams.

The Macleay's Spectre Stick is found in Northern Australia and New Guinea. Although today they are known primarily in Australia, captive stocks were originally kept in Queensland.

The Macleay's Spectre Stick should be handled carefully as they are rather prickly.

Macleay's Spectres do mate in captivity. Their eggs are about 5 mm long and are shiny and either brown or cream colored. The eggs usually take three to six months to hatch as long as they are in a tropical-like environment. They will mature in 3 to 4 months and can be expected to live 9 to 10 months on average.