| Ctenomorpha marginipennis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Phasmatidae |
| Genus: | Ctenomorpha |
| Species: | C. marginipennis |
| Binomial name | |
| Ctenomorpha marginipennis Gray, 1833 | |
| Synonyms | |
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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.
C. marginipennis resembles a eucalyptus twig and can grow up to 20 cm in length. [1] The males are long and slender, have full wings and can fly. The females are larger with blackish hindwings. The wings of the females are smaller than those of the males. The legs and head (prothorax) are light pinkish brown, with the legs being dentated. The mesothorax, tegmina, abdomen and leaflets, are all blackish green. The mesothorax may have small tubercles. The abdomen contains numerous small spots. The cerci are extremely long and may be somewhat dentated. [2] [3] The nymphs are similar to the older stage, but with only small wing buds instead of the full-length wings of the adults. [2] This species can be distinguished from other members of the family by their extremely long cerci and by the appearance of their eggs. [4]
This species is quite common in heaths and woodlands from southern Queensland south to Victoria, but prefers coastal environments. [4] [2]
The female lays 3 mm elliptical eggs that look like plant seeds. [3] Like most phasmids, C. marginipennis flicks its eggs on the soil, where a little knob called the capitullum attracts ants to carry them to the ant refinery, where they hatch. [5] This species is parthenogenetic.
Ctenomorpha marginipennis feeds on leaves from the eucalyptus tree as well as other tree species. It is a twig mimic, its body shape and colouration making it well camouflaged among eucalyptus twigs.
The Phasmatodea are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects. Phasmids in the family Phylliidae are 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 includes the world's longest insects.
George Robert Gray FRS was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years. He was the younger brother of the zoologist John Edward Gray and the son of the botanist Samuel Frederick Gray.
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 endemic to Australia. The species has the Phasmid Study Group number PSG9.
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 in Malay Archipelago, more precisely on the Malay Peninsula and Borneo and is nocturnal.
The Euphasmatodea, also known by its junior synonym Verophasmatodea is a suborder of the Phasmatodea, which contains the vast majority of the extant species of stick and leaf insects.
The Phasmatidae are a family of the stick insects. They belong to the superfamily Anareolatae of suborder Verophasmatodea.
Megacrania batesii, commonly known as the peppermint stick insect, is an unusual species of stick insect found in northeastern Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and possibly as far north as the Philippines. It is notable for its aposematic coloration, as well as its robust chemical defense mechanism. Its common name refers to the irritating fluid — with an odor resembling peppermint — that it sprays as a defensive action from a pair of glands located at its prothorax when threatened, as well as the cylindrical, twig-like shape of its body. A member of the subfamily Megacraniinae, it was first described by English naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates in 1865.
The Phasmatinae are a subfamily of stick insects in the family Phasmatidae. They contain at least three tribes; Bradley and Galil corrected the spelling to "Phasmatinae" and provides a key to tribes.
Onchestus rentzi is an Australian species of stick insect, commonly named the crowned stick insect, described in 2006. It lives in rainforests along the coast of Queensland and the Northern Territory. It is named after the Australian orthopterist David Rentz.
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.
The pink-winged phasma is a species of phasmid that is endemic to Australia.
Eurycantha horrida, the thorny devil walking stick, is a species belonging to the stick insects and to the family Phasmatidae.
Pylaemenes is a genus of stick insects in the family Heteropterygidae and subfamily Dataminae. It combines small to medium-sized, often brightly colored Phasmatodea species. Their representatives are found in large parts of Southeast Asia.
Phasmatini is a tribe of stick insects in the family Phasmatidae. There are more than 40 described species, found in Australasia, Asia and possibly Brazil.
Megacrania is a genus of the subfamily Megacraniinae of stick insects. Members of this genus are commonly referred to as "peppermint stick insects", due to the characteristic odor of their defensive spray, as well as the cylindrical, twig-like shape of their bodies.
The genus Dares, which is mainly native to Borneo, combines relatively small and mostly dark-colored Phasmatodea species.
Aretaon asperrimus is a species of insect in the Aretaon genus of the Phasmatodea order. The sometimes used common name thorny stick insect is a bit misleading, since the species does not correspond to the typical stick-like habitus and many other species are thorny as well.
Orestes krijnsi is a species of stick insects native to Vietnam.
Media related to Ctenomorpha marginipennis at Wikimedia Commons