Ahhh! They're everywhere!

[jemjdragon]

So a few months ago I decided to help a friend out. He had 6 laboratory stick insects, all about 5-6 inches in length. (He got these from a family friend who didn't want them in their classroom anymore but that's a different story, unrelated to this one). He was getting his house fumigated or something and wanted to give away to bugs to someone to take care of them and keep them. I took them because I thought they were cool, which is probably not the best reason. I gave them a bigger tank, new substrate, more branches, etc. Anyways they all died and I was really sad. I think it was my fault, but I'm not sure.

Their cage still remained set up because I didn't find the time to clean the tank out and put it into storage for later use (also I got lazy). Today I saw movement in the cage and found about 15 tiny baby stick bugs. I didn't thing they had time to mate (or not mate, since they can reproduce without males) for the short period of time I had them. For all I know there might be more of them. I don't mind keeping them but I would like a better idea on how to take care of them. Since these guys are so tiny, I'm going to move them into a smaller tank till they get bigger.

 

[jemjdragon]

I'm finding more and more of them in the tank. I'm up to 25 or so now. They don't see to want to eat what I provided (the ones before ate rose leaves) but they did drink when I misted them. Some are missing legs, not sure why.
If they don't start eating for the rose leave in a few days, should I try black berry leaves?

 

[T-ReXx]

Try Mulberry leaves. Most stick insects will eat them readily.

 

[Tony C]

I had them as a kid, if I remember correctly I used raspberry leaves as their staple diet. If you end up with too many bugs I'm sure there are some chameleon enthusiasts in your area who would take your surplus.

 

[gixxer3420]

I know this isn't advise thats going to help you but by chance could you post pics of them? I'm very curious as to what they look like.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I actually found a couple around my house in Nw PA this summer. Really neat bug. It's my 5th year here and this was the first we've ever had them. What about releasing trhe surplus back to the wild? (insert releasing non-native bugs into an ecosystem rant here :main_lipsrsealed: ).

 

[neubauer geckos]

Are they a non-native species?They are most likely the Indian Stick Insect,which I believe is illegal to keep in the US,as they are crop munchers.I would be careful where you post that you have them...:main_lipsrsealed:

 

[jerry]

I Would Love To See Some Pics

 

[Dog Shrink]

Doing a quick google image search on labratory stick insect came up with this:

Versus Indian stick:

Is there a difference??? IDK... apparently not:

"Most likely you will have the Indian or laboratory stick insect Carausius morosus a naturalized species in Cape Town. The female is about 70-84 mm, often brown, occasionally dull green and rather elongated. Its antennae are moderately long, and just about each the end of forelegs (unlike all other species).
Males not found as it reproduces parthenogenetically - so they are all clones of each other. They occur on ivy and other plants in gardens. They are aliens - having being introducted from Pulney [Palni] Hills, Tamil Nadu, Southern India . Also "escaped" into Europe and USA".

 

[jerry]

Wow Pretty Cool, I Wonder What The Life Span Is?

 

[Dog Shrink]

The average lifespan is approx. 1 year. http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/insectsspiders/a/stickinsects_2.htm

 

[jerry]

Thank You For The Info, They Are Pretty Neat

 

[Dog Shrink]

You're welcome I LIVE to research

 

[jemjdragon]

Actually they turn the color of the environment they're raised in.

The colour of adult insects varies from almost black to very light green. This is influenced by the "colour" of their envirnment while they are growing up. This is probably an adaptive feature that helps them blend into their background and avoid detection by predators.

This can be tested/demonstrated by growing two or more groups of insects in different "coloured" environments.

Procedure:

* Make two or more cages for growing several (more than 5) insects so that they are the same size and shape (two identical cages - except for colour).
* Make each equivalent cage a different colour by painting the inside. Use non-toxic paints so you don't poison your insects and paint them long before you need to used them so that any "paint vapours" have evaporatated long before the insect are added to the cage. I suggest you start with one cage with a black (or dark brown) colour and another cage that is light green. Make the sides, bottom and lid one colour. Be sure to also make the sticks (for moulting) the same colour as the sides, too.
* Add newly hatched insects (or young insects) to each cage and grow to adulthood in the coloured cage.
* While they are growing make sure each cage is treated in the same way. Keep the same feeding, temperature, light/dark cycle.
* Record your observations on the colour of each insect as it grows. This should permit you to follow any change in colour and determine when in their development the colour "decision" is made.
* If you can get a set of paint colour sticks with a variety of colours you can make a note of which colour is closest. If you keep track of each "colour group" and record the changes as they take place with each moult.
* Record and compare the colour of the adults. If you kept all the other environmental factors the same then any difference in body colour between the two "colour groups" should be due to the colour of their environment (e.g. black vs. green).

This is an experiment from:
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/locke.hp/walking_sticks.htm

 

[jemjdragon]

Actually, the adult stick bugs I had were tan colored. Now from the babies some of them turned green (more plants their tank), some turned black (kept in a corner of a room with little/no light), and some stayed tan (these appeared in both tanks, I guess they are still undecided in color or just chose the color of the sticks). I didn't even preform the experiment. =P