Phasmid Study Group

Q. What is the heaviest phasmid?
A. Females of Heteropteryx dilatata are the heaviest known Phasmids. A female laden with eggs may weigh in excess of 65g (Brock, 1999). The heaviest recorded specimen at a PSG meeting (belonging to Kristien Rabaey and Rob Simoens) weighed in at 49.2g (Smith, 2007), but culture stocks are likely to be significantly smaller than wild specimens are.

Q. What is the longest phasmid
A. At the moment the longest described species is Phobaeticus kirbyi, but check back regularly for announcements!

Q. How long do Phasmids live?
A. Adults may live from several weeks to a few years. Males generally have a shorter lifespan than females. Males of Phyllium bioculatum often only live for around three weeks. Dares verrucosus may have a lifespan of up to five years (Brock, 1999).

Q. How many eggs do phasmids lay?
A. The largest recorded amount of eggs laid by a single female is 2,052 by Acrophylla titan, 89 per week on average (Brock, 1999). Phasmids generally lay between 100 and 1000 eggs.

Q. Can you eat Phasmids?
A. Some indigenous people do use Phasmids as a food, notably Stone (1992) reports Extatosoma tiaratum is eaten by natives of Papua New Guinea (although as E. tiaratum is not found in this region the author probably refers to Eurycantha or Extatosoma popa). The insects eat the leaves of the sago palm, which are used as a thatching material. When the leaves are collected any tiaratum found are skewered on appointed sticks pushed from the abdomen up through the head. The insects are then spit roasted on any open fire until the legs fall off.

Bragg (1990) reports that villagers of the Bideyuh tribe in Sawawak eat the eggs of Haaniella grayi grayi that are removed from the abdomen of adult females, boiled for 30 seconds, shelled and eaten. Bragg (2001) also reports the Iban tribe in Sarawak eat Haaniella echinata, not just the eggs.

Q. Are there any UK native Phasmids?

There are several species of phasmid that have become naturalised in the UK. This topic is discussed in more detail here . In the meantime you can read about UK Phasmids on the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly website.

Q. I have a seen a large stick insect with a smaller stick insect on its back. Is it a baby or mating?

Stick insects do not show any level of parental care (apart from the fact that some species selectively position their eggs). This will almost certainly be a mating pair, the male being the smaller individual that is on top.

CANT'T FIND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION?
A. Then why not 'ask the experts' at the Phasmid Study Group by using our 'Ask a Question' form?

Bragg, P. 1990 Phasmida and Coleoptera as Food. Bulletin of The Amateur Entomologists' Society, 49:157-8.

Bragg, P.E. 2001 Phasmids of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.

Brock, P. D. 1999. The Amazing World of Stick and Leaf-Insects. The Amateur Entomologists’ Society, Orpington. 23.

Smith, M. 2007. PSG Summer Meeting, 14th July 2007. The Phasmid Study Group Newsletter, 111: 7-9.

Stone, J. L. S. 1992. Keeping & Breeding Butterflies and Other Exotica. Blandford, London. 157-8.