Look, is that a walking stick? No, it’s not the stick that walks, it’s an insect that scientists call a “stick insect.” Stick insects are generally referred to as “walking sticks”. They belong to the Phylum-Arthropoda, Class-Insecta, Order-Phasmatodea. Insects belonging to this order can range from tiny to gigantic in size. Stick insects resemble leaves or twigs and are green or brown in color. They tend to remain immobile for a long time and hang from plants, bushes or trees. Your camouflage is a powerful weapon to protect yourself from your enemies. They are herbivorous, feeding on leaves preferably only the broader leaves. The females are larger in size compared to the males and are incompetent to fly while the males can fly quickly. The females only have the ability to glide.
There are two families of stick insects: Phylliidae and Phasmatidae, in Australia. Most stick insects are in the family Phasmatidae and only one species is recognized in the Phylliidae. Female stick insects are larger. The head is endowed with two large compound eyes and 20 mm long antennae. The thorax is 30 mm long with some black spots. Forewings 15 mm long, hindwings 30 mm long, covering two and a half of the abdominal segments. The thoracic legs have spiny extensions. The abdomen has ten segments of which the last one has two cerci of 10 mm. Females are brown to pale green with brown tegmina. Males are smaller in size with a 35mm antennae and 40mm long hindwings, huge compared to those of the females. Tegmina 10mm long, thorax 15mm abdomen with ten segments 60mm long. The front legs are spineless, while the middle and hind legs have well-organized spines. Thank you just like the females. Males can be green or brown in color.
The mating process of stick insects is fascinating. Mating pairs are seen joined by their anal ends. They restore their mating posture for many hours. After copulation, the male stick insect dies two days later. The females lay around 150-200 eggs and then die within a week of laying eggs. Eggs are 3 mm long, dark brown to black in color. The stick insect drops eggs to the ground during the summer and hatches from August to September. The eggs have a hard, hard shell bearing a capitulum that is pushed by the baby as it hatches. the eggs resemble the seeds. The hatched larvae are 13-15 mm long and are very active. They resemble their mothers except for the wings with a very short antenna. They also resemble their mother in a sitting position. Several go through molding stages before becoming adults. Stick insects take on the phrase “masters of camouflage.” Their adaptive strategy is an efficient tool that protects them from their opponents.
The shape of its body and the dynamic color that resembles the parts of plants. When they remain motionless, they keep their front legs in front of their head making them look like the twigs or the branch. they feed preferably at night while during the day they remain immobile on the plants. They usually consume the entire leaf of the plant without leaving a single part. They are often blown by the wind. their eggs resemble seeds, providing an effective means of protection against enemies. The Goliath stick insect drops its excrement at such a distance that it goes unnoticed by the predator. When disturbed by enemies, they sometimes fall to the ground and act as if they are dead, a phenomenon called “catalepsy”. After each molt, they eat the shed skin, as it is enriched with nutrients and can also protect them from predators. Each insect is well adapted to its environment which helps it to be well protected from its enemies. Nature provides insects with a protective shield that is responsible for the presence of insects in many typical habitats. The defensive strategies of insects allow them to be successful taxa.