''Anchiale austrotessulata'' (synonyms include ''Ctenomorphodes tessulatus''), the tessellated stick insect, tessellated phasmid or tessulata stick insect, is a medium-sized, stick insect found in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

area of Australia.Phasmid Study Group: ''Anchiale austrotessulata''
/ref> Fully grown males in mating season exhibit frenetic behaviour. This species is also

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 ...

. The species was first described in 1835 by

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray FRS (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years. He was the younger brother ...

as ''Ctenomorphodes tessulata'' (later corrected to ''tessulatus)''.

Description

Tessellated stick insects are brown grey. Females are about long and males are about long. The name comes from the black and white

tessellation A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to higher dimensions and a variety o ...

s in the wings. Females are short winged and flightless, whilst the long-winged males are capable of flight. Eggs are tiny (), shiny black with a white capitulum.

Behaviour

Females, like many phasmids in Australia, flick their eggs to the ground in order to attract ants to take them to the ant refinery where they hatch over seasons.

Rearing in captivity

Nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...

will hatch if they are in crevices in rock and will not hatch in dry conditions, whilst on sand the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

will hatch as well. Nymphs when hatching in crevices can use the rock, bark etc. for helping hand to get out of the egg, also while on sand the nymphs can use the sand to emerge without having the egg still attached to rear legs. Cold conditions will hatch the eggs if they were in a non-dry environment, in a crevice, and on

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

. ''Ctenomorphodes tessulatus'' eggs will not hatch in dry conditions. The presence of sand or litter helps the young phasmatid to completely free its metathoracic legs - if the eggs are placed loosely on the surface the nymph frequently cannot accomplish this and usually dies still attached to the shell. Females are

so a single egg can start a population, all eggs produced this way will be females. Whilst reaching adulthood the tesselated phasmid needs to keep feeding in order to grow, which can cause significant defoliation. Rearing the nymphs is quick and easy, low maintenance cleaning and when adult,

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reprod ...

is easy and simple.

References

External links

miller.emu.id.au
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10410856, from2=Q5191685 Phasmatodea Insects of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxa named by George Robert Gray Insects described in 1835

Description

Behaviour

Rearing in captivity

See also

References

External links