Acanthoxyla prasina

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Prickly stick insect
Acanthoxyla prasina 18101079.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Phasmatidae
Genus: Acanthoxyla
Species:
A. prasina
Binomial name
Acanthoxyla prasina
(Westwood, 1859)
Synonyms
  • Acanthoderus prasinusWestwood, 1859
  • Acanthoxyla speciosaSalmon, 1955

Acanthoxyla prasina, the prickly stick insect, is a stick insect in the order Phasmatodea and the family Phasmatidae. [1] It is native throughout New Zealand, although it is less frequently reported than "common" stick insect species. It has been introduced to Britain, predominantly Cornwall and Devon, and to the south-west region of the Republic of Ireland. [2] [3] It has a thorny skin, which is used as camouflage. [4]

Contents

Identification

Acanthoxyla prasina is a large insect; their body length ranges from 7.5 to 11 cm long when fully grown as adults. [5] Their bodies tend to be wider than other stick insect species. They come in two different colour forms: green and brown in various shades. There are eight subspecies, some of which have prominent dark spines on the top of the thorax and abdomen. [6] Acanthoxyla prasina have various number and size of their spines (prickles) including one characteristic spine on the underside of their abdomen, at the base of their subgenital plate. [6] Acanthoxyla prasina has black spines across the top of individuals of A. prasina heads, mesothorax, metathorax, abdomen and femora. [6] Their antennae are on average just slightly longer than the fore femora and the tail on the end of their abdomen is shorter and more circular than that of other subspecies. [6] Camouflage, body structures and behaviors help A. prasina avoid predation. [7]

Life cycle and phenology

Acanthoxyla prasina has no male individuals; A. prasina are exclusively females. They reproduce through asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis. [8] Prickly stick insects lay eggs that are 4.2 mm long and 1.8 mm high. [5] Their eggs are brown/grey, oval shaped and are covered in small spines. Female stick insects lay their eggs on the ground, and they begin to hatch in spring when the weather warms. [9] Each individual will lay hundreds of eggs in its lifetime but all the eggs that are laid have a 99% mortality rate [3] .

Hatchlings emerge as nymphs. At one day old they are approximately 2 cm long. [5] Ananthoxyla prasina will moult approximately 5–6 times in roughly 6 months before reaching adult size. [10] They usually moult at night. Once emerged, they will likely eat their old skin. Insects in the genus Acanthoxyla live for 12–24 months. [9]

Distribution and habitat

Native range

Acanthoxyla prasina can be found throughout New Zealand, where it was originally endemic. [11]

Introduced range

Ananthoxyla prasina was accidentally introduced to Paignton, UK, in 1910, [12] although other sources describe them as Acanthoxyla subspecies, not Acanthoxyla prasina, [3] or as the smooth stick insect Clitarchushookeri. [13]

No male had ever been seen within the species or genus Acanthoxyla until 2016 when one was discovered in Cornwall. [13] This single male was the result of a rare mutation. It is unknown if the male was capable of producing sperm or inseminating females because the specimen was killed, dried and added to the collection at the Natural History Museum in London. [14]

Acanthoxyla prasina egg illustration by Des Helmore PHAS Phasmidae Acanthoxyla prasina egg.png
Acanthoxyla prasina egg illustration by Des Helmore

Diet

Acanthoxyla prasina are forage feeders. [8] These stick insects feed on a variety of native plants, as well as some introduced species coniferous trees; radiata pine, macrocarpa, cypress and common garden plants. [6] Acanthoxyla prasina are nocturnal; they usually feed at night. [8]

Predators

Birds are the most common predator of A. prasina. Many native and introduced species feed on A. parsina, including house sparrows, blackbirds, silvereyes, chaffinches and yellowhammers. [9]

Māori Significance

Much of the knowledge and wisdom from the tangata whenua of New Zealand about stick insects has been scattered or lost. [6] [7] Stick insects were considered to be relatives of mantids and were called rō, whe and wairaka. [6] Different tribes had their own stories and beliefs involving insects. If a stick insect or mantis crawled onto a woman, it indicated she was pregnant and the type of insect was an indicator of the child's sex. [6] When a mantis or stick insect fell onto a human in a forest, the area became a sacred site. [6] Māori believed the presence of a stick insect would indicate that the land would not make a good garden. [6] There is also the Māori legend of Tāne, who is considered the creator of insects. [7]

Hybridization

The entire Acanthoxyla genus likely evolved by hybridization. This hybrid origin theory is highly likely as the genus contains both diploid and triploid lineages. [6] [15] The genus Acanthoxyla may have risen from Clitarchus hookeri through two or more hybridizations. [16] The maternal species could be Pseudoclitarchus sentus or an extinct sexual Acanthoxyla. [16] It has been observed that Acanthoxyla genus has low genetic diversity, suggesting poor differentiation. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phasmatodea</span> Order of stick and leaf insects

The Phasmatodea are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walkingsticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's darning needles, although this name is shared by both dragonflies and crane flies. They can be generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects, with phasmids in the family Phylliidae called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defense in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera Phryganistria, Ctenomorpha, and Phobaeticus include the world's longest insects.

<i>Extatosoma tiaratum</i> Species of stick insect

Extatosoma tiaratum, commonly known as the spiny leaf insect, the giant prickly stick insect, Macleay's spectre, or the Australian walking stick, is a large species of Australian stick insect. The species has the Phasmid Study Group number PSG9.

<i>Heteropteryx</i> Monotypic genus of stick insect

Heteropteryx is a monotypic genus of stick insects containing Heteropteryx dilatata as the only described species. and gives its name to the family of the Heteropterygidae. Their only species may be known as jungle nymph, Malaysian stick insect, Malaysian wood nymph, Malayan jungle nymph, or Malayan wood nymph and because of their size it is commonly kept in zoological institutions and private terrariums of insect lovers. It originates from the Malay Archipelago and is nocturnal.

<i>Argosarchus</i> Genus of insect

Argosarchus is a monotypic genus in the family Phasmatidae containing the single species Argosarchus horridus, or the New Zealand bristly stick insect, a stick insect endemic to New Zealand. The name "horridus" means bristly in Latin, likely referring to its spiny thorax.

<i>Eurycnema goliath</i> Species of stick insect

Eurycnema goliath, commonly known as the goliath stick insect, or the regal stick insect, is a large species of stick insect in the family Phasmatidae, endemic to Australia and considered one of the largest species of stick insects in the country. The species has the Phasmid Study Group number PSG14.

<i>Ctenomorpha marginipennis</i> Species of stick insect

Ctenomorpha marginipennis, the margin-winged stick insect, is a species of stick insect endemic to southern Australia. The species was first described by George Robert Gray in 1833.

<i>Clitarchus hookeri</i> Species of insect

Clitarchus hookeri, is a stick insect of the family Phasmatidae, endemic to New Zealand. It is possibly New Zealand's most common stick insect. Clitarchus hookeri is often green in appearance, but can also be brown or red. Alongside the prickly stick insect and the Unarmed stick insect, C. hookeri is one of three stick insect species to have become naturalised in Great Britain, with all three having originated in New Zealand.

<i>Acanthoxyla</i> Genus of stick insects

Acanthoxyla is a genus of stick insects in the family Phasmatidae. All the individuals of the genus are female and reproduce asexually by parthenogenesis. However, a male Acanthoxyla inermis was recently discovered in the UK, probably the result of chromosome loss. The genus is the result of interspecific hybridisation resulting in some triploid lineages and some diploid lineages. The genus is endemic to New Zealand, but some species have been accidentally introduced elsewhere. The genus name Acanthoxyla translates from Greek as prickly stick.

<i>Acanthoxyla inermis</i> Species of stick insect

Acanthoxyla inermis is an insect that was described by John Salmon in 1955. Acanthoxyla inermis is included in the genus Acanthoxyla, and family Phasmatidae. No subspecies are listed. This species is native to New Zealand but has been unintentionally moved to Great Britain where it has grown a stable population and is the longest insect observed in the UK, and the most common of the stick insects that have established themselves on the island.

<i>Clitarchus rakauwhakanekeneke</i> Species of stick insect

Clitarchus rakauwhakanekeneke is a stick insect that belongs the common New Zealand genus Clitarchus. It lives only on the Poor Knights Islands.

Phobaeticus hypharpax, is a species of phasmid or stick insect of the genus Phobaeticus. It is found in Sri Lanka and Southeast India. It is closely related to the Sri Lankan species Phobaeticus lobulatus and the Southeast Indian Phobaeticus sinetyi. It is characteristic for the sparse but very broad and prominent serrations of the anterodorsal carina of the front femora and unarmed medioventral carina of the middle and back femora. It is also distinctive for its particularly long abdomen.

<i>Epidares</i> Species of stick insect

Epidares nolimetangere, the touch-me-not stick insect, is an insect species from the order of the Phasmatodea and the only representative of the genus Epidares. The species name nolimetangere comes from Latin and means "don't touch me". It refers to the prickly appearance of the animals.

<i>Hoploclonia</i> Tribe of stick insects

Hoploclonia is the only genus of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly coloured Phasmatodea species.

<i>Trachyaretaon</i> Genus of stick insects

Trachyaretaon is a genus of stick insects native to the Philippines.

<i>Orestes mouhotii</i> Species of stick insect

Orestes mouhotii is an insect species belonging to the order of Phasmatodea. Because of its synyonym Orestes verruculatus, it is the type species of the genus Orestes. Because of its compact body shape, the species is sometimes referred to as small cigar stick insect.

<i>Orestes bachmaensis</i> Species of stick insect

Orestes bachmaensis is a Phasmatodea species native to central Vietnam.

<i>Hoploclonia cuspidata</i> Species of stick insect

Hoploclonia cuspidata is a stick insect species native to the north of Borneo and is also called Brunei Hoploclonia stick insect.

<i>Hoploclonia abercrombiei</i> Species of stick insect

Hoploclonia abercrombiei is a stick insect species known from the northwest of Borneo, more precisely from only one place in the Malay state Sarawak.

<i>Trachyaretaon echinatus</i> Species of stick insect

Trachyaretaon echinatus is the type species of the genus Trachyaretaon in the order of the stick insects.

References

  1. ↑ "Acanthoxyla prasina (Westwood, 1859)". phasmida.speciesfile.org. 2021. Archived from the original on 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  2. ↑ "Acanthoxyla prasina (National Biodiversity Network Atlas)". nbnatlas.org. 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  3. 1 2 3 Lee, Malcolm (1998). "An updated survey of the distribution of the stick insects of Britain" (PDF). Phasmid Studies. 7 (1): 18–25. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  4. ↑ "Insect poses prickly questions" on Otago Daily Times website, viewed 2013-10-16
  5. 1 2 3 Salmon, John Tenison (1991). The Stick Insects of New Zealand. Reed. ISBN   0790002116.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Trewick, Steve (2005). Stick insects. Auckland N.Z: Reed. ISBN   186948570X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. 1 2 3 Trewick, Steve (2007). "Stick insects". Te Ara.
  8. 1 2 3 Buckley, Thomas (2024). "Stick insects (Phasmatodea)". Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research.
  9. 1 2 3 Chudleigh, Brian (2007). "STICK INSECTS: The skinny world of stick insects". New Zealand Geographic. 083.
  10. ↑ "Prickly Stick Insect Acanthoxyla prasina". Entomological Society of New Zealand. 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  11. ↑ "Species Details". New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  12. ↑ Salmon, John (1955). "Stick Insects". Tuatara: Journal of Biological Society. 5 (3).
  13. 1 2 Brock, Paul D; Lee, Malcolm; Morgan-Richards, Mary; Trewick, Steven A (2017). "Missing stickman found: the first male of the parthenogenetic New Zealand phasmid genus Acanthoxyla uvarov, 1944, discovered in the united kingdom". Acropos (60): 16–23. ISSN   1478-8128 . Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  14. ↑ ainge Roy, Eleanor (2018-02-06). "New Zealand female-only stick insect produces 'rogue' male in UK". The Guardian . Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  15. ↑ Myers, S., Trewick, S., & Morgan‐Richards, M (2012). "Multiple lines of evidence suggest mosaic polyploidy in the hybrid parthenogenetic stick insect lineage Acanthoxyla". Insect Conservation and Diversity. 6 (4): 537–548. doi:10.1111/icad.12008.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. 1 2 3 Morgan-Richards, M., & Trewick, S (2005). "Hybrid origin of a parthenogenetic genus?". Molecular Ecology. 14 (7): 2133–2142. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02575.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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