#821: Wasp Moth

There are over 1000 species of Wasp Moth. They are called such due to their resemblance to wasps. this is a form of protective mimicry, designed to deter predators.  This fellow, Euchromia Polymena, is native to India and South-east Asia. She is a diurnal moth. Her eggs are laid on the underside of leaves, and the hatching caterpillars remain together until they are almost fully grown.

#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.

Creature Feature #439: Leaf Insect

Just when you thought... New Year, New Letter, LemurKat pulls a final L creature out of her menagerie! This one was inspired by an episode of QI and *may* have been what I was really thinking of when I did "Leaf Beetle", which is also a creature (or large collection of creatures) but not as interesting a Thing as this Thing.

The Leaf Insects are a Family of insects closely related to the Stick Insects. She is named for her appearance and superb mimicry, resembling a leaf so convincingly that some individuals may even have nibbled edges as they are tasted by other (presumerably rather suprised) vegetarian insects. Her wings are vestigal, aiding to her appearance whereas the males are capable of flight. The males of some species are rarely - or never - seen and females reproduce pathogenically. She will lay up to 40 eggs upon reaching maturity. These hatch into little red nymphs which will gradually turn green as they eat leaves and grow.