Spiny Leaf Insects are stick insects – also known as phasmids. Adult Spiny Leaf Insects are more like dead leaves than sticks however and are very hard to spot in the wild as they hang motionless from foliage. They are leaf-eaters like other phasmids, and are found in the northeast of Australia, where they feed on a variety of plant types.
They have a very interesting reproductive cycle, beginning with the eggs being tossed individually by females from the trees down to the forest floor. The eggs look very much like plant seeds and are often collected by ants and stored below ground in their nests which protects the egg from predators. After hatching, the baby leaf insects (nymphs) must make their way to the surface and into a tree. Nymphs mimic the appearance of an ant at this stage of its life – this doesn’t fool ants but does fool other animals such as birds which don’t like eating ants.
Once in a tree it begins to feed on leaves and grows by shedding its outer skeleton
(exoskeleton). This process is called ecdysis or moulting. Males will do this five times, and
females six times to reach maturity. To moult successfully the insect needs to hang
uninterrupted beneath a leaf or branch. This can take 10mins to half an hour. Mature males
develop wings and hold their abdomens straight. Females retain the curled-up posture and have spines along their backs.
