Walking Branches
These interesting insects can be found all over the world. The best-known species is the Indian branch (Carausius morosus). Bee Avonturia de Vogelkelder are a number of other species to admire. They come in all sizes and colors some even have wings. time and again new varieties are being added to try to breed with. No fewer than 2500 different species have been described. The stick insect is one of the least conspicuous animal in nature because of its camouflage
Housing
Stick insects are generally easy to keep as pets, they are not a difficult reptile to keep.
The stick insects can be kept in several in a relatively small space without adversely affecting propagation. You can keep stick insects in almost any aquarium, large pot or room with a glass wall. The enclosure can be covered with a tightly closing frame, with fine mesh or nylon. Room temperature is a very suitable temperature for most stick insects. Because the animals do not like bright light, it is important not to place them in a sunny windowsill. Make sure that the faeces are removed regularly so that you prevent it from becoming a dirty mess.
Eurycantha Calcarata
This very large stick insect species from Papua New Guinea can grow up to 15 cm. They are also called the Black Ground Branch in the Netherlands. They can look very aggressive and imposing with their "thorns" on the inside of their thigh. They are generally ground dwellers and love bramble leaves, oak leaves and ivy for food. The woman and man are easily distinguishable from each other. The woman is bigger than the man. And the female is generally a lighter color than the male. The female lays the eggs in the ground with her ovipositor. With this she can make a hole in the ground where she can lay the eggs. The eggs then hatch after 4 to 6 months of age and the stick insects are mature after 4 to 6 months after the eggs hatch. This stick insect species often live closely together in groups.
Extatosoma tiaratum
Also called the Australian Flap Branch or Australian Thorn Branch, it is a nice branch to keep. The stick insect actually looks more like a cactus than a branch. The difference between male and females is easy to see because the females have a number of spines next to each other on her head (it looks just like a crown), males do not have this. The females are also thick and can grow up to 15 cm. They have short feelers and small wings but cannot fly. The male branches are just the opposite: narrow with long feelers, few spines and they grow to about 10 cm. When the males are fully grown, they have long wings and, unlike the females, they can really fly. The diet consists of eucalyptus, blackberry, hawthorn, rose, beech, birch, alder, oak, acacia, rowan, lettuce, apple and blackberry. Ivy is not recommended, they do not eat this. This branch is easy to breed, but it takes 6 to 9 months before these eggs hatch. If you want to keep these stick insects, you certainly have a terrarium of 45×30 cm, when the stick insects start to molt they will hang extensively on a branch and then they really need the space.
Diet
Stick insects are herbivores. The diet usually consists of leaves of privet, ivy, rose, blackberry or oak. Preferably, a "bouquet" of different leaf types is given so that the stick insects have some variety in terms of nutrition.
The food plants can be placed in a bottle of water to keep them fresh longer. You can then close the opening of the jar with cotton wool, so that no insects drown. Replace the feeder plants if they are wilted. It is important to spray lightly every other day.
Oreophotes Peruana
These beautifully colored stick insects originate from South America, countries such as Peru & Ecuador. These stick insects are also called the Red Fern Branch. Because they mainly eat red and yellow ferns. This stick insect species in a popular variety but for the real enthusiast. Ferns are his only preference, but beware, the ferns must be unsprayed! It is not always easy to obtain unsprayed ferns, so that makes this a more difficult species of stick insects to keep. The difference between man and woman is very clear. The females are yellow with black in color and the males red. Keep the container reasonably moist to create good living conditions for the stick insects. The stick insects are mature with an age of 5 months. The eggs laid by the female hatch after 3 to 4 months.
Phenacephorus Cornucervic
With these decorative branches it looks like pieces of moss or plants are growing on the stick insects. Incidentally, this only seems to be the case with the females because the males are smooth. After the first molt, the difference between male and female can be seen. The Phenacephorus Cornucervic are originally from Sabah and eat, among other things, blackberry, raspberry, ivy, rose, oak and hazelnut.
The males of this nice species are thin and have a beautiful, shiny brown color. They have a bit of a curved back and long feelers and they grow to about 6 to 7 cm. The females of this species exist in different color variants such as black, brown and beige. The females have a side branch on their abdomen and are provided with many flaps. Some females seem to have a bit of green moss on their head as described earlier. Females of this species grow to about 8 cm. It takes about 2 to 3 months for the eggs to hatch. It is also recommended to keep the eggs a little moist, you can achieve this by spraying them every 2 to 3 days. It takes about 5 to 7 months for this species to mature.
This species grows quickly and lays when they are adults they can lay quite a lot of eggs in one go, which often all hatch. This species has a special behavior which makes them even more special, they can stretch their front legs so that the head fits perfectly between their legs, making them look even more like a twig. This makes them perfectly camouflaged in the natural environment of the stick insects.
aplopus
There are several varieties of this stick insect. The Rose Wing Branch is one of these, for example. In case of a fall or losing balance, this branch knows how to correct itself by means of its handy wings.
Typical for this species is the special smell that comes from the wings. This type of stick insect originally comes from the Dominican Republic and mainly eats rose, blackberry and oak.
