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Stick Insects
Just as the name implies, they look like a stick, with legs. Entomologists are still working on grouping these animals. Many newly discovered species have not been formally described but there are about 3,000 species classified and the list is growing.
500 Questions
What do gnats eggs look like?
Asked by Wiki User
Flying, long-legged, tiny insects are what gnats look like. The insects in question (Diptera order) may be compared to super-tiny dark specks. They possess wings even though they are known as weak fliers in the insect world.
How many eggs can stick insects lay?
Asked by Wiki User
Indian laboratory stick insects lay up to 200 eggs. They do not need any surface to lay them on they will just drop them. They take up to 3 months to hatch. It is very likely that some will have to be crushed because they will all hatch and there will be too many to be kept by 1 person. If you plan on selling them they will sell cheapest at 10p.
What kind of leaves do stick insects eat?
Asked by Wiki User
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they eat small bugs?
How do you tell if a stick insect a boy or girl?
Asked by Wiki User
The female stick insects can either glide or not fly at all and the females tail has a more oval shape to it.
The males can fly away so it is not advertised to take it outside, the males tail has a bump on its tail.
Most poisonous insect?
Asked by Wiki User
That is really three questions in one. It could mean which insect has the most venomous sting, which insect has the most dangerous venom but does not sting, or which insect causes the highest mortality rate.
Firstly the most venomous sting insect. In the USA alone 23 people a year die from bee and wasp stings. Usually an insect's sting is quite harmless for humans and only a slight skin reaction occurs, but a few people suffer very severe reactions. When stung, a few people can go into anaphylactic shock and experience difficulty breathing, difficulty in swallowing, a sharp fall in blood pressure, collapse, unconsciousness and even death.
The most dangerous insect in this category is the honey bee, and accounts for as many human deaths as all the species of snake cause put together. However, nearly all of the deaths caused by these insects are due to allergic reactions and not to the venom itself.
The insect that has the most potent venom belongs to the ants in the Pogonomyrmex genus. This tiny little insect can kill a 2kg mammal (such as a rat or a rabbit) with only twelve stings. These ants could kill a human with between 350 to 450 stings, without an allergic reaction taking place. To put this in perspective, to get the same reaction from a honey bee, it would take well over 10,000 stings.
Now for the most venomous insect that does can not sting. These are only dangerous in they are ingested or touched. There are a few caterpillars in this category and two groups of beetle, but the most venomous is the Blister Beetle. There are around 2000 species of blister beetle worldwide, and when they occur in large numbers they can cause a large problem for livestock. The Blister Beetle produces a toxin called Cantharidin, a chemical that cause blistering on the skin and if eaten also inside the intestine tissue. These beetles live in grass and hay, the natural food source for many animals and when they are eaten by these grazers, it can cause them serious harm. A cow or horse need only eat 10 or so beetles accidentally to become seriously ill, and this is likely to kill the animal.
However, the Blister Beetle might be the most toxic, but it is not the insect that causes the most deaths. This title belongs to the Mosquito, but how does it kill with out venom or poison? The Mosquito carries many potentially dangerous diseases and as the move from one person, or animal, to another, they infect the new host with these diseases. The Mosquito with the most infamous reputation is that of the Anopheles genus. In Africa alone this tiny insect kills one child under the age of five every thirty seconds. That totals around 3000 every day and nearly one and half million in a single year. The mosquito is also known for transmitting malaria and this claims the lives of around one to three million people every year. Even if a person survives the first stages of malaria, it is a disease that they will have to battle for the rest of their lives, and will most probably result in death years after the first infection. It is commonly agreed that malaria is one of the top killers in the world, and the main cause of infection results from the tiny mosquito.
So the insect with the most venomous sting is the Honey Bee, the insect with the most toxic venom is the Blister Beetle, although this is only dangerous if eaten, but the insect that causes the most deaths is the common Mosquito.
Just a small edit if talking about the most venomous insect that does not sting, instead of saying the blister beetle I would say the genus Lonomia would be the winner which are a group of moths located in South America, however it is not the fully grown adult moth that is being brought into question but the caterpillar instead. While the LD50 for them has not been tested it is predicted to have the lowest LD50 among all natural Toxins.
What are names of the stages that a fruit fly goes through when maturing from a fertilized egg?
Asked by Wiki User
The fruit fly has four stages to its life cycle. These are egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The egg will hatch into a larva after about twenty four hours being lain. The larva will moult twice in its life time. During these moulting periods the cuticle, mouth, hooks, and spiracles will be shed. Pupation will start after the second moult, when the larva will become hard and dark in colour. The puparium is where the metamorphosis takes place. Just before the adult fly emerges from the puparium, the pupa will darken in colour. About twenty four hours before the adult is ready to brake out of the pupa, the folded wings and pigments of the eyes can be seen through the puparium's shell. When the metamorphosis is complete, the adult will force its way out of the top of the puparium. To begin with, the fly looks light in colour with a long abdomen and unexpanded wings, but within a few short hours the fly becomes darker in colour, more rounded in the abdomen, and it will extend its wings. About forty eight hours after emerging from the puparium, female are able to start laying eggs. However, there are only twelve hours of the adult females life that it can be considered to be a virgin. A female fruit fly can store sperm after a single insemination and use it many times for reproduction. This enables the female fruit fly to be fertile for life and lay many eggs with out needing to mate every time.
Where do Spiny Leaf Insects live?
Asked by Wiki User
they will eat leaves from eucalyptus, wattle, rose, gum and raspberry.
What are the types of stick insects?
Asked by Wiki User
There are over 3,000 recorded species of stick insect, 300 of which are bred in captivity. There is no such thing as a stick insect breed like a cat or a dog.
What do baby Indian stick insects eat?
Asked by Wiki User
Yes. They will moult six times until they are adults. Each moult will happen approximately each month.
Can walking stick spit?
Asked by Wiki User
I live in the pine forests north of Houston, Texas. I was trimming bushes in my yard one afternoon and throwing the pieces into a lawn bag when I noticed an insect, which I believe to be a walking stick, on a piece of yaupon that I was about to throw into the bag. Not wanting to harm the little critter, I leaned in toward it and blew on it to get it off the vegetation. It spit (or propelled in some way) about 6-10 small blobs of a dark brown thick liquid onto my face and eyes. My eyes burned badly enough that I dropped everything and stumbled into the house to wash my eyes out with water. No permanent harm was done and I understand the liquid is not an acid but is chemically more related to kerosene So, they can hurt, but not harm.
Do stick insects like humans?
Asked by Wiki User
Its easy to say "no", but stick insects might indeed think, but not in a way humans do. All animals think - whether it to decide with leaf to eat or how to interact with another of its species. Many of these things are instinct-driven, but an animal does indeed have to use its brain to make descisions.
What group is a walking stick in?
Asked by Wiki User
Walking Sticks are insects. They have six legs and a chitin exoskeleton. They belong to the Order Orthoptera, which includes not only walking sticks, but also grasshoppers, katydids, crickets, praying mantids, and cockroaches. Walkingsticks belong to the Suborder Phasmatodea, Family Phasmatidea which includes both walkingsticks (which look like sticks) and leaf insects (which look like leaves). I will not deal with leaf insects here but they, too, are interesting insects.
There are several thousand species of Walking Stick insects and many are kept as pets. The ones I had, and describe here, are Indian Stick Insects (Species: Carausius morosus; Pronounced: Ca-rau-si-us mor-o-sus). They are also called the Laboratory Stick Insect because they are easily kept in the laboratory for research experiments. They range in colour from a dark-brown (almost black) to bright green, with the younger stages usually being browner. Walking Sticks take several months (4-6) to grow from a first instar stage, which is about 1 cm long (1/2 inch), to an adult of about 10 cm (4 inches).
They can also mean the non-insect variety, which means mobility support and hiking gear.
How long do lady bugs mate for?
Asked by Wiki User
Ladybugs do not get pregnant, they lay eggs. The eggs hatch in about 4 or 5 days into a larval state. About 10 to 15 days later, they go into the pupal stage, and then they grow to be adults.
Why do insects stick to webs?
Asked by Wiki User
They stick to webs because the webs are generally sticky. Some webs rely mostly on the prey struggling and getting tangled up in the silk fibers.
Some Spiders have oil on their bodies to prevent them from sticking to their own webs. However, most make their webs in two parts, sticky and not sticky. Since they build their own webs, they know which strands of silk are sticky and which ones are not.
How can you get rid of stick insects?
Asked by Wiki User
To hacth stick insect eggs, lay your eggs in an inclosed container (with air holes) on some dirt. Then put your eggs on your desk or somewhere warm and away from chemicals. Remember to check on your eggs every day to see if they've hatched. They will take from 6 weeks to over a year to hatch. Mine start hatching around the end of winter.
How does one hatch spiny stick insect eggs?
Asked by Wiki User
about 3-4 months
i know because my stick insects eggs have just hatched
Do females stick insects need a male to lay eggs?
Asked by Wiki User
Some stick insect species do have the males and females sexes, but other species do not. It really depends on the exact species as to how they reproduce.
For example, the best known stick insects are the Indian Stick Insect (also known as the Laboratory Stick Insect). These can grow to around 10cm (4 inches). They are known to reproduce parthenogenically, a word that means an unfertilized egg is capable of hatching into a new individual. Males of this species are unrecorded, although gynandromorphs are quite common. Gynandromorph meaning having both male and female parts.
Does a walking stick insect have a heart?
Asked by Wiki User
yes, a stick insect has a heart that is 15 for every insect in the world.
Why are stick insects important?
Asked by Wiki User
In general the more common species of stick insect can be kept together, though if you are breeding more difficult species then it pays to use separate cages to create individual requirements.
Most stick insects come from tropical or semi-tropical environments and are happiest between around 25°C, though the common Indian stick insect (Carausius morosus) and some of its relatives are happy at normal home temperatures of 17°C+. Heating is best achieved by maintaining a whole room at the desired temperature, if this is not possible an electric light bulb can be used over small cages. It is important to make sure the stick insects can not reach the light bulb as they will burn themselves. A red bulb should be used during the hours of darkness as this disturbs the Sticks far less.
Most stick insects are long thin animals which hang down from their food plants to shed their skins. It is therefore most important that the cage has sufficient depth to allow this. As a general rule it should be three times as high as the adult length of the stick insects to be kept in it. It is also useful to have it so designed that you can easily replace the food plant material whenever it is required taking into consideration that this will mostly be brambles.
Not all sticks insects share a common need for humidity. Some species such as Carausius morosus will be happy to live in a fairly open cage whereas others such as Epidares nolimetangere will require an almost if not totally enclosed cage with around 80% relative humidity. Regardless of this, all sticks insects need water and it is a good idea to thoroughly mist the inside of the cage including all the food plant material each evening.
Some stick insects such as Haaniella sp. need open water in a low bowl to drink. Don't be concerned if they leave their heads under water while drinking, remember that insects breathe through their thoracic and abdominal spiracles not through their mouth or nose like us. Note also that in some places tap water can harm some species so it doesn't hurt to use either rain water or to let the tap water stand for a day or two.
FeedingAlmost all stick insects eat the leaves of bramble/blackberry and its relatives of the genus Rubus. Many such as the Indian or Laboratory stick insect (Carausius morosus), the Australian or Giant Spiny stick insect (Extatosoma tiaratum), the Thorn Legged stick insect (Eurycantha calcarata), the Small Spiny stick insect (Aretaon asperrimus) and the Jungle Nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata) will also enjoy plants like Oak (Quercus sp.) and Hawthorn (Crateagus monogyna).
It is important to make sure that your stick insects always have plenty of fresh food, and it is often wise to take from sites away from major road ways to avoid the poisoning effects of the traffic fumes. If this is unavoidable then the plant material should be washed before being offered to the stick insects.
HandlingGreat care should be taken in handling stick insects at all times. Some species such as the Indian or Laboratory stick insect (Carausius morosus) and the Australian or Giant Spiny stick insect (Extatosoma tiaratum) are relatively sturdy and these should be used when allowing younger children or people who could be frightened to handle the stick insects.
Note that some species such as Pink Winged (Sipyloidea sipylus) tend to lose their legs very easily. Also it should be noted that some species such as the Australian or Giant Spiny stick insect (Extatosoma tiaratum), the Jungle Nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata) and particularly the Thorn Legged stick insect (Eurycantha calcarata) can and will pinch (with their thorny limbs) and bite if not used to being handled.
Other species such as the American Walking Stick (Anisomorpha bupestroides) and to a lesser extent Pink Winged (Sipyloidea sipylus) have a defensive chemical spray which in the case of American Walking Stick (Anisomorpha bupestroides) can cause temporary blindness and considerable pain to an adult.
BreedingA number of species of stick insect, such as the Indian or Laboratory stick insect, are parthenogenic (i.e. the females lay unfertilised eggs which hatch into females which also lay unfertilised eggs). However, the majority of species require males and females.
All stick insects lay eggs, some just drop them onto the ground, some stick them under tree bark or into crevices and some bury them in the ground. If you keep the burying species such as the Australian or Giant Spiny stick insect, Thorn Legged stick insect or Epidares nolimetangere you will need to ensure the bottom of the cage has a container of damp peat-free compost (about 5cm deep) in it once the females are adult.
Stick insect eggs can take from between two months and a year to hatch depending on species. In general the larger species are the ones which take longest, though not always. You can either leave the eggs on the cage floor and let the stick insects hatch as they want, in this case it is useful to keep some common Woodlice such as Porcellio scaber in the cage to help keep down the fungus. Or you can collect the eggs each time you clean the cage and keep them in separate containers until they hatch. In this case the eggs of the burying species will need to be gently reburied about 1cm deep, and the rest will need to be kept on some absorbent material such as sand. All will need to be kept in a warm place and spraying with moisture occasionally will help. A careful/daily watch should be kept for moulds and mouldy ova/eggs removed, cleaned and then kept in a separate container.
Missing limbsStick insects can lose limbs for a number of reasons and you should be careful to avoid any situation which may cause your stick insects to lose limbs. Some of the common causes of lost limbs include:
- Overcrowding - the stick insects bite or knock off legs of other stick insects in their cage. Your stick insects should have plenty of room in their cage and this is especially important when they're moulting.
- Fungal infection - if you suspect your stick insects have a fungal infection, thoroughly clean their cage and, if necessary, quarantine infected individuals.
- Rough handling - stick insects are fragile and, like all animals, should be handled with care and respect.
What do they call the rubber cover on the bottom of a walking stick?
Asked by Shorttybr
It's called a FERRULE.
Why do stick insects look like sticks?
Asked by Wiki User
Because they if they look like sticks then they can camouflage and no predator can eat them.
How can you tell stick insects are male or female?
Asked by Wiki User
You can't they are asexual. most of them are female an the males don't com around very often. Plus if you do get a male the female will try to fight with him to earn dominance.
ADD:
Not all species of stick insect are asexual. Many species need a mate to fertilise the eggs so males are just as common as females. A male stick insect, just like most insects, are always much smaller than the females. Females are usually broader and longer while the males are usually slender and shorter.
Also the males have a little bump on the end of their tails.
