Lord Howe Island stick insects were once numerous on the tiny crescent-shaped island off the coast of Australia for which they are named. The insects, which can measure up to 6 inches in length, don’t resemble sticks so much as tree lobsters, as they are also known. After ships accidentally introduced rats to the island about a century ago, the Lord Howe Island stick insects quickly disappeared. They were later declared extinct, only to be found again decades later living on Ball’s Pyramid, a sheer volcanic stack about 12 miles away. But those newfound insects didn’t look quite the same as older museum specimens, raising doubts about the nature of their true identity.