Eurycantha horrida, the thorny devil walking stick,Phasmida Species
/ref> is a species belonging to the

stick insect The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as ...

s (

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Phasmatodea The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as ...

) and to the family

Phasmatidae The Phasmatidae are a family of the stick insects ( order Phasmatodea). They belong to the superfamily Anareolatae of suborder Verophasmatodea. Like many of their relatives, the Phasmatidae are capable of regenerating limbs and commonly repr ...

Description

''Eurycantha horrida'' can reach a length of about in males, of about in females. The body color ranges from pale green to brown. The young insects are glossy greenish. These ground-dwelling

s resemble bark or rotten wood. They have numerous small spines on their body and on their hind legs. Both sexes are wingless and look very similar. They exhibit the

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

of many phasmids, as the males are darker, smaller and thinner and have enlarged hind leg femurs with a curved spine or thorn on the underneath side. Females are also brighter than the males and have a larger abdomen tipped with a beak-shaped

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

with which they lay the eggs in damp soil.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

.Stick insects converge on tree lobsters
/ref> It can be found in tropical rainforests in trees, shrubs and ground litter.

Life cycle

The eggs hatch after about 4 months. Young insects mature after about 5–6 molts in 4 to 6 months. Life expectancy from hatching to the death is of about 2 years. They are nocturnal and they feed on a wide range of plants, mainly on leaves of

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

species (blackberry, raspberry, wild rose, hawthorn, cherry, cotoneaster, etc.) but also on leaves of oak, beech, hazel, chestnut, eucalyptus, etc.

References

External links

Reptarium
Phasmatodea Insects of Papua New Guinea Insects described in 1835 {{phasmatodea-stub