Common name: Stick Insect
Scientific Name: Leptynia hispanica
Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Superorder: Exopterygota
Order: Phasmatodea
Type: Invertebrates
Diet: Herbivores
Stick Insect
The stick insect resembles a twig. They are typically brown, black or green, with stick shaped bodies that help them blend in as they perch on twigs and branches. They are almost indistinguishable from small branches. Their way of movement contributes to this illusion. Their walk in a slow back and forth motion, as if moved by the wind. It has 6 legs, 2 antennae. Some species have wings when adult, most species do not. The shape and size of their body differs a lot between species. Average Life span in the wild up to 3 years
Size:
Ranging from 1.5cm to over 30cm. Some species can be as 56.7cm with its legs outstretched, making it one of the world’s longest insects. Females are normally longer than male, Havier than male and movement is slower than male.
Habitat
Found in the tropics and subtropics - although several species live in temperate regions. Stick insect thrive in forests and grasslands, where they feed on leaves. They spend much of their day motionless, hidden under plants. Very active at night.
Stick Insect Can Shed and Regenerate Their Limbs to Escape by Predators:
The imperilled insect simply gives up the leg, using a special muscle to break it off at a weak joint. This defensive strategy is known as autotomy. Juvenile stick insects will regenerate the missing limb the next time they moult. In some cases, adult stick insects can even force themselves to moult again to regain a lost leg. But so far in my observation, I haven’t seen a adult stick insect to moult to regain a lost leg.
Reproduce
Stick insect able to reproduce almost entirely without males. Unmated females produce eggs that become more females. When a male does manage to mate with a female, there is a 50/50 chance their offspring will be male. A captive female stick insect can produce hundreds of all-female offspring without ever mating.