''Carausius morosus'' (the 'common', 'Indian' or 'laboratory' stick insect) is a species of Phasmatodea (phasmid) often kept as pets by schools and individuals. Culture stocks originate from a collection from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, India. Like the majority of the Phasmatodea, ''C. morosus'' are nocturnal. Culture stocks are

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and developmen ...

females that can reproduce without mating. There are no reports of males, although in captivity,

gynandromorph A gynandromorph is an organism that contains both male and female characteristics. The term comes from the Greek γυνή (''gynē'') 'female', ἀνήρ (''anēr'') 'male', and μορφή (''morphē'') 'form', and is used mainly in the field ...

s (individuals with both female and male characteristics) are sometimes reared.

Description

Females are elongated and about in length, ranging from a light green to a darkish brown in colour. The front legs have red patches at the base of the forelegs, and similar but yellow patches on the mid-legs. Eggs are in length, ovoid and brown, with a beige capitula at one end. When the eggs hatch, the plug opens and dark, tiny, string-like young crawl out of the opening. The eggs are haploid.

Behaviour

When disturbed, the major defence method is feigning death, the body becoming rigid, and the legs held along the line of the body. They may also be found swaying to mimic the movement of foliage in wind. The insects feed at night, when they are active. During the day, they rest, often with legs in line with the body, on their food plants.

Accidental introductions

Due to their inconspicuous nature, accidental introductions of ''C. morosus'' have been recorded around the world, including

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and the United States, where in some cases they have become a pest. Studies at

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

found the introduced species on a large number of ornamental plants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carausius morosus Lonchodidae Insects described in 1901 Insect rearing