Fast facts about stick and leaf insects |
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There are only about 50 species world wide. They are found mainly in south east Asia and New Guinea.
The body is flattened and leaf-like, sometimes complete with blotches. Some species resemble living leaves, and some resemble dead leaves.
They vary in size from about 3 - 12 cm.
There are over 2900 species in the world, found mainly in warm regions on foliage and twigs. To increase their camouflage some even sway in the breeze.
They range in size from 2.5 - 55 cm when fully grown, and are usually brown or green in colour. One of the longest stick insect ever recorded was a female Phobaeticus kirbyi from Borneo, which measured 55 cm long, and Pharnacia serratipes, at 55.5 cm (22 in) is the longest. More recently (2025) in the wet tropics of northeast Australia a stick insect named Acrophylla atta has been found measuring 40 cm long and weighing 40 g. So far only females of this species have been found. For more insect records see this page.
If a stick insect is seized by a predator it has the ability to shed a leg. This leg will gradually grow back a little at each successive moult.
The eggs are hard-shelled, seed- or flask- like with a little lid at one end. In the wild they can occur in huge numbers, and the sound of their hard eggs hitting the forest floor sounds like rain.
Carausis morosus, the Indian stick insect, above, is also known as the Laboratory stick insect. It is nocturnal and parthenogenic, there don't seem to be any males in captivity. It can grow as long as 100 mm. The colour ranges from light green to dark brown. Its front legs can have patches of red at the base. When disturbed it will play dead or sway to mimic a twig in the breeze.
In captivity it can be fed privet, ivy or bramble. Cage height should be 25 cm at least to allow for successful moulting. Mature females lay several eggs every night. The eggs are oval and brown with a beige capitula (plug that opens to allow newly hatched young to crawl out). The eggs drop to the ground and hatch out after four months or so. Once hatched their life span is around a year. Nymphs moult six or seven times before reaching adulthood. It is important not to handle the stick insect when they are moulting or just after they have moulted as their skin (really their exoskeleton) is still soft and can be easily damaged. After their skeleton has hardened they can be handled with care. They are easy, affordable pets.
Clonopsis gallica (above) is found in Europe, and is very easy to keep as a pet.
The Giant Malaysian leaf insect, Pulchriphyllium giganteum, Phyllium giganteum is above. It is mainly nocturnal and found in Malaysian forests and Indian ocean islands on Indian pear plants. It can grow to a length of 12 cm. and the female cannot fly, but can glide. Females are larger than the very rare male who reaches just 8 cm in length, but can fly. From egg hatch to fully grown adult takes about eight or nine months. The female lays 100 - 300 black seed-like eggs which fall to the forest floor. A female can be parthenogenic, so can lay eggs without mating.
The Giant Malaysian leaf insect is a popular pet, and in captivity can be fed bramble, oak or raspberry leaves. It requires high humidity and a temperature of 21 - 300C.
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