Overview
As understood, the Phylliidae comprise eight subfamilies, of which the Phylliinae and Necrosciinae are represented in Australia. There is also an early record of the genus
Haaniella
(Heteropteryginae). The Phylliinae, or 'leaf insects', in which the body is strongly flattened dorsoventrally and the abdomen and legs bear broad lamellate expansions, occur widely in south-east Asia and New Guinea. In Australia they are represented by at least three species, in the genera
Phyllium
and
Nanophyllium
, in the rainforests of northern Qld. In the female the antennae are very short and the fore wings cover almost the whole of the body, while the hind wings are greatly reduced. The Necrosciinae are a large, principally south-east-Asian group of medium-sized phylliids, with long slender antennae and very small fore wings (in the winged forms). In Australia the winged genus
Sipyloidea
has a number of species frequenting tall tropical grasses, and others, with brachypterous females, found on shrubs in the arid parts of southern Australia.
Parasipyloidea
, with many apterous species, occurs on plants of the herbaceous stratum in eastern Australia.