Leaf and Stick Insects | 台北市立動物園資訊網

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One interesting Australian phasmid is the Spiny Leaf Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum), also called Macleays Spectre Stick Insect. The females of this species have very large bodies but very short wings and are unable to fly. The males are long and slim with fully developed wings. Spiny Leaf Insects are popular pets in Australia and also overseas.

Female Spiny Leaf Insects are not only larger than the males, but also live longer, surviving for up to 18 months. They lay thousands of eggs during their adult life, flicking them onto the ground below their perch. The eggs have a knob, called a capitulum, which is attractive to ants. Ants carry the eggs back to their underground nests, eat only the knob, and leave the rest of the egg in the nest, protected from other animals that might eat it. The young phasmids (or nymphs) hatch after one to three years underground and look and behave like red-headed black ants. T...