Tessellated stick insect facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tessellated stick insect |
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| Male Ctenomorphodes tessulatus | |
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Ctenomorphodes
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C. tessulatus
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| Ctenomorphodes tessulatus (Gray)
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Ctenomorphodes tessulatus, the tessellated stick insect, tessellated phasmid or tessulata stick insect, is a medium-sized, stick insect found in the Brisbane area of Australia. Fully grown males in mating season exhibit frenetic behaviour. This species is also parthenogenetic.
Description
Tessellated stick insects are brown grey. Females are about 150 mm (5.9 in) long and males are about 120 mm (4.7 in) long. The name comes from the black and white tessellations in the wings. Females are short winged and flightless, whilst the long-winged males are capable of flight. Eggs are tiny (3 millimetres [0.12 in]), shiny black with a white capitulum.
Behaviour
Females, like many phasmids in Australia, flick their eggs to the ground in order to attract ants to take them to the ant refinery where they hatch over seasons.
Rearing in captivity
Nymphs will hatch if they are in crevices in rock and will not hatch in dry conditions, whilst on sand the eggs will hatch as well. Cold conditions will hatch the eggs if they were in a non-dry environment, in a crevice, and on sand.
Females are parthenogenetic so a single egg can start a population, occasionally causing defoliation but all eggs produced this way will be females. Rearing the nymphs is quick and easy, low maintenance cleaning and when adult, mating is easy and simple.
