We've had walking sticks/stick bugs (phasmids) for oh, two years or so, and we love watching them, holding them, spritzing them with water, and feeding them whole bunches of Romaine lettuce at a time. We started with five or so and one day we had about one hundred! My daughter wound up with double that amount at her house! It wasn't too hard to find a few homes for our extras, and we were then left with about seventy creatures of various sizes...from 1/4 inch to about 3 inches, in various hues of brown. And here's the crazy part: we grew to love these guys--not just because they are the easiest pets in the world, but also because there is something endearing about a living thing who is satisfied with wood chips, a few chomps of lettuce, and the occasional rainfall (from our spray bottle of course).
We should have started a second habitat with so many sticks (they need room to shed their exoskeletons/molt), but we didn't, and sadly lots of them died off. As of yesterday, we had TWO left! And just as I began to think we would need to put this phase of our pet care aside, Tobi (5) discovered a teensy weensy tiny baby walking stick still not able to walk. And then, I discovered another and another, suddenly increasing the creature count to a whopping FIVE! There is hope yet for our friends who await baby walkers from us. Here are a few tidbits, pictures and web sites for you if you have further interest in these great insects:
There are nearly 3,000 species of stick insect (Phasmatodea) in the world. They all feed on vegetation and are one of the most popular forms of insect pets.
Reproduction
Many female phasmids do not need to mate in order to produce fertile eggs. This form of reproduction is called parthenogenesis and all the eggs produced will hatch into females. If the females do mate with a male before producing eggs, the nymphs (babies) may be male or female.
Life-history
In some species males are rarely (or never) seen. The females of these species reproduce parthenogenically. That is, the females lay unfertilized eggs which hatch into females which also lay unfertilized eggs. However, in many species both males and females are present.
Most phasmids lay eggs singly and commonly the eggs resemble seeds. Some species release these and let them fall to the ground where they become hidden amongst the leaf litter. Other species will descend to ground level and, using a blade-like ovipositor, lay single eggs underground. It can take a very long time for the eggs to hatch. In some species this can even be as long as six months to a year.
Phasmids undergo incomplete metamorphosis and the nymphs look like small versions of the adults. The wings, if present, only appear at the final molt.
The average lifespan for stick and leaf insects is twelve months but, in captivity, they can live longer. They make excellent pets and there are caresheets for Stick insects and Leaf insects available on this site.
National Geographic
What's That Bug?
