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.
Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of an embryo occur directly from an egg, without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. In plants, parthenogenesis is a component process of apomixis. In algae, parthenogenesis can mean the development of an embryo from either an individual sperm or an individual egg.
Tree wētā are wētā in the genus Hemideina of the family Anostostomatidae. The genus is endemic to New Zealand. There are seven species within the genus Hemideina, found throughout the country except lowland Otago and Southland. Because many tree wētā species are common and widespread they have been used extensively in studies of ecology and evolution.
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.
Deinacrida fallai or the Poor Knights giant wētā is a species of insect in the family Anostostomatidae. It is endemic to the Poor Knights Islands off northern New Zealand. D. fallai are commonly called giant wētā due to their large size. They are one of the largest insects in the world, with a body length measuring up to 73 mm. Their size is an example of island gigantism. They are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN due to their restricted distribution.
Deinacrida parva is a species of insect in the family Anostostomatidae, the king crickets and weta. It is known commonly as the Kaikoura wētā or Kaikoura giant wētā. It was first described in 1894 from a male individual then rediscovered in 1966 by Dr J.C. Watt at Lake Sedgemore in Upper Wairau. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it can be found in the northern half of the South Island.
Medauroidea extradentata, commonly known as the Vietnamese or Annam walking stick, is a species of the family Phasmatidae. They originate in Vietnam and are found in tropical forests there. They eat a variety of foliage, though in captivity they commonly eat blackberry bramble, hawthorn, oak, red maple, and rose.
Deinacrida connectens, often referred to as the alpine scree wētā, is one of New Zealand's largest alpine invertebrates and is a member of the Anostostomatidae family. Deinacrida connectens is a flightless nocturnal insect that lives under rocks at high elevation. Mountain populations vary in colour. This species is the most widespread of the eleven species of giant wētā (Deinacrida).
Clitarchus is a genus of stick insects in the Phasmatidae family and Phasmatinae sub-family. This genus is the most common stick insect in New Zealand. It is found widely throughout the North Island and part of the South Island on kanuka and manuka, as well as various common garden plants.
Acanthoxyla prasina, the prickly stick insect, is a stick insect in the order Phasmatodea and the family Phasmatidae. 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. It has a thorny skin, which is used as camouflage.
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.
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.
Clitarchus rakauwhakanekeneke is a stick insect that belongs the common New Zealand genus Clitarchus. It lives only on the Poor Knights Islands.
Hemideina thoracica, commonly known as the Auckland tree wētā or tokoriro is a cricket-like insect. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found over most of the North Island, except for the Wellington region and regions 900 metres above sea level. This species is an arboreal, herbivorous generalist however, it is also thought to be polyphagous and is found in all wooded habitats, including forest, scrub and suburban gardens.
Hemideina crassidens, commonly known as the Wellington tree wētā, is a large, flightless, nocturnal insect in the family Anostostomatidae. This wētā species is endemic to New Zealand and populates regions in the southern half of North Island/Te Ika a Maui and the north-west of the South Island/Te Wai Pounamu. They forage arboreally during the night and are most likely polyphagous. There is obvious sexual dimorphism in adults. Individuals are reliant on tree cavities for refuge, social interactions and mating.
Hemiandrus bilobatus, the wine wētā, is a species of ground weta endemic to New Zealand. Being a ground weta, they are often found in burrows in the ground during the daytime. The species is found in Wellington, on Mana Island and northern South Island and is classified as "Not Threatened". This species of weta is unusual for an insect in that the female shows maternal care. She lays about 50 eggs in the same burrow she uses during the day and looks after her eggs until they hatch.
Hemiandrus maculifrons is a species of ground wētā endemic to New Zealand. They are nocturnal, carnivorous, and flightless orthopterans belonging to the family Anostostomatidae. Being a nocturnal species, individuals remain in tunnels in the ground during the day and emerge from their burrows after sunset to forage and hunt for small invertebrates. H. maculifrons is one of the smallest New Zealand weta species, averaging 15 mm in length and weighing 1–3 g. Unlike the tree weta and tusked weta, where sexual dimorphism is found in the form of male weaponry, ground weta only exhibit sexual size dimorphism: the females are larger than the males.
Pachyrhamma edwardsii is a species of wētā, in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in caves, or large cavities where there is high humidity and little plant or animal life.
Wētā is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world. Generally nocturnal, most small species are carnivores and scavengers while the larger species are herbivorous. Although some endemic birds likely prey on them, wētā are disproportionately preyed upon by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered.
