World-first stick insect breeding in Vic

Australia could soon have the world's largest insect after a successful Victorian breeding program.

Two years after 50cm stick insect Lady Gagantuan, or Lady Gaga for short, was found near Cairns, her captive-bred children have laid eggs of their own.

The eggs herald the success of Museum Victoria's world-first breeding colony of Ctenomorpha gargantua, Australia's - and one of the world's - largest stick insect species.

A world record could also be on the cards for the grandchildren if the growth of Lady Gaga's children are any indication.

A daughter of Lady Gaga is 56.5cm - 6.5cm bigger than Lady Gaga and just 0.2cm short of the largest insect ever recorded - a Chan's megastick.

The breeding program is especially significant given only three females have ever been spotted in the wild.

"For a species that's so rarely seen, it's wonderful to have even a few live specimens in captivity" said Patrick Honan, the museum's live exhibits manager.

Mr Honan's colleague, Maik Fiedel, who found Lady Gaga in the wild and painstakingly reared her precious young at the museum and from home, is overjoyed.

"It's been a tough journey over the last 18 months, so we're really excited to see what happens next," Mr Fiedel said.

The gargantuan stick insect, which lives a quiet, well-camouflaged life high in rainforest canopy, was only first scientifically classified in 2006.

The colony is on display at Melbourne Museum.