- Spiny Leaf Insects are phasmids, which means they are insects that both eat and resemble leaves and sticks
- Spiny Leaf Insects live for about 18 months and grow up to 15-20cm long in a very short time. They shed their skin regularly which is when they grow.
- Males have wings but females dont.
- Females lay many eggs in their lifetime. Eggs take up to 2 years to hatch.
- The eggs have a sweet substance on the outside of them.
- In the wild, a species of ant is attracted by this substance and collects the eggs and takes them into their nest where they feed off this substance. This keeps the eggs safe until it's time to hatch.
- When the babies finally hatch, they resemble red and black ants so that the ants think they are just another ant. This enables them to get out of the ant nest safely. They change colour and shape in a few days when they first moult to look more like a proper spiny leaf insect.
Some of my baby spiny leaf insects
One of my babies that has gone through it's first skin shed and looks more like a leaf insect
One of my adult spiny leaf insects shedding her skin
5 comments:
Just discovered your page. I keep giant spinys as well. I love the pictures. I did a post about mine if you would like to check it out. I'll add a link to your post here. Have a great day.
http://coolpetbugs.com/giant-prickly-stick-insect-care/
this is so cool
this is so cool
Hi there do you have a photo of the setup for babies which have hatched? I was going to buy a critter keeper and put stocking in lid so they can't escape.
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