#726: Stick Insect

The Stick Insects are an Order of insects named for their resemblance to the foliage they inhabit. This camouflage offers them protection from predators such as birds and small mammals. In case this technique fails, many species have secondary defenses such as toxins, dramatic threat displays or thorny protrusions. With a cosmopolitan spread, Stick Insects are most common in the tropics and subtropics. They follow a vegetarian diet and are capable of breeding via pathenogenesis. Eggs laid in such a manner hatch into offspring genetically identical to the mother.

Whilst many species resemble sticks with legs (and are difficult and a little dull to draw), this fellow is known as the Giant Prickly Stick Insect. She is naturally found in Australia and New Guinea and grows to around 15cm in length. Males are slimmer and shorter. Aside from being well camouflaged against the leaves, she also curls her tail in a pose indicative of a scorpion, in an attempt to deter predation. She is fairly popula rin the pet trade.