The insect stickshaped is also known as ghostly and leaf art. It belongs to the type of Phasmatodea. The name comes from the ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, which means “phenomenon” or “ghost”. Zoologists have about 3,000 types of sticks.
Where the sticks live
Insects are found on all continents, except Antarctica, are most numerous in tropics and subtropics. More than 300 species of rods have chosen the island of Borneo, which makes it the most popular place in the world to study the sticks.
The range of the sticks is wide, they are found in lowlands and in the mountains, in moderate and tropical temperatures, in dry and wet conditions. The sticks live on trees and shrubs, but some species exclusively in pastures.
What the sticks look like
Like any insect, the sticks have a body of three parts (head, chest and abdomen), three pairs of joint legs, complex eyes and a couple of antennae. Some species have wings and fly, while others are limited in movement.
Insects from 1.5 to 60 centimeters in length; Males, as a rule, are much less, females. Some species have cylindrical pabutian bodies, others are represented in flat, sheetical forms.
Adaptation of sticks to the environment
Insects of sticks imitate the color of the environment, they are green or brown, although there are black, gray or even blue sticks.
Some species, such as Carausius Morosus, even change pigmentation in accordance with the environment, like chameleon.
Many species make swinging movements, insect bodies swing from side to side, like leaves or branches in the wind.
When camouflage is not enough, insects use active forms of protection to combat predators. For example, the type of EuryCantha Calcarata highlights a terribly smelling matter. In other species, brightly painted wings become invisible in a folded state. When the sticks feel the threat, they open their wings, then fall to the ground and hide their wings again.
Brokes are night creatures that spend most of the day motionless, hiding under plants. This tactic helps them avoid the attack of predators.
What the sticks eat in nature
These are herbivores, which means that the diet of insects is purely vegetarian. File stickers with leaves and green plants. Some of them specialize and eat only their favorite greens. Others are universals.
Than useful
The litter litter contains digested plant material, which becomes food for other insects.
How the sticks propagate
Sticks give offspring with the help of partyogenesis. With ash propagation, not fertilized females produce eggs from which females are withdrawn. If the male fertilizes the egg, a chance of 50/50, that the male will hatch. If there are no males, only females continue the family.
One female lays from 100 to 1200 eggs, depending on the type. Eggs resemble seeds in shape and size and have solid shells. Incubation lasts from 3 to 18 months.
