Coconut stick insect

Graeffea crouanii

FAMILY

Phasmatidae

TAXONOMY

Bacillus crouanii Le Guillou, 1841, Samoa Island.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Broad green or pinkish-brown species, with bold pink, shortened wings. Males grow to 2.6–2.8 in (65–70 mm) and females to 4.1–4.6 in (105–116 mm).

DISTRIBUTION

South Pacific Islands.

HABITAT

Found wherever coconut palms grow.

BEHAVIOR

Well camouflaged on or near coconut palms, where they typically lay flat underneath leaflets. When disturbed, they may display their bright pink wings.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds mainly on coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), devouring the green tissue of leaflets and sometimes the youngest fronds.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Females lay a few hundred eggs, which hatch in about three to four months.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

When population explosions of this species occur, they can result in defoliation of coconut palms, leading to serious losses to planters and village communities.