The Phasmid

Study Group

JUNE 2014 NEWSLETTER No 132 ISSN 0268-3806

© Paul Brock Haaniella scabra male, head & thorax. (See Page 28).

Page Content INDEX Page Content

2. The Colour Page 16. Phyllium giganteum Male 3. Editorial 16. The Stick “Tip Exchange” 3. Obituary: Michael Lazenby 17. Rare Fossils of Phasmids 3. The PSG Committee 17. New Book on LHISI 4. Livestock Report 18. Phyllium giganteum ? 4. PSG Crossword Puzzle 20. Sticky the Movie 5. Agenda for PSG Summer Meeting 21. Man at Prances 6. Sticks 21. Crossword Puzzle Answers 6. Correction to December PSG Newsletter 22. PSG Winter Meeting & AGM 2014 7. PSG Winter Meeting 2014 23. Contributions to the Newsletter 8. Phasmid Growth Study 23. How to Join the PSG 9. Stick Talk 24. Giant Female Phasmid Captured in Australia 9. UV Light for Phasmid Cages? 25. National Insect Week 23-29 June 2014 9. PSG Membership Forms 25. Diary Dates 10. Harper’s Magazine Article on Phasmids 26. Sticks do not Stick 15. Unusual Mating Behaviour Bacteria horni 27. Penang Butterfly Farm 15. PSG Summer Meeting 2014 28. Photos of Phasmids.

It is to be directly understood that all views, opinions or theories, expressed in the pages of "The Newsletter“ are those of the author(s) concerned. All announcements of meetings, and requests for help or information, are accepted as bona fide. Neither the Editor, nor Officers of "The Phasmid Study Group", can be held responsible for any loss, embarrassment or injury that might be sustained by reliance thereon. THE COLOUR PAGE!

Marmessoidea male. (See page 28).

Haaniella scabra male. (See page 28).

Jane Hamberg’s picture of a stick insect found on 3.4.14, at Newquay in Cornwall, England.

(Copyright Alexander Karas).

Mating pair of Macleay's Spectre Extatosoma tiaratum on Muntingia calabura, Beerwah, SE Queensland, Australia, 13 February, 2008. Good match for bright green leaves – our ETs are usually brown.

A PHASMID’S FOOT: Scanning electron microscopy image of conical, micrometre-sized outgrowths that cover the tarsal ‘heel pads’ of some stick (false colours). Image by David Labonte & Adam Robinson. See page 26.

Marmessoidea female. (See page 28).

Table of giganteum eggs and A Cloaked Phasmatodean Insect from hatching. (See page 19). the Early Cretaceous . (See page 17).

Is this species the longest stick in the world? (See page 24).

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.2

Editorial

Welcome to the June PSG Newsletter. (See it in full colour on the PSG website).

If this bumper issue does not have something for everyone I’ll eat my hat! Many

thanks to everyone that contributed and made this issue so special. PSG Summer Meeting. Please be aware we have our PSG Summer Meeting on ……………….. Saturday, 5th July 2014. Judith has lined up another great meeting. There will be two talks, a “Name the Species” competition, a film, and everybody’s favourite…the Livestock Exchange, also many other things. It is again in the Flett Theatre, but sadly I cannot attend this time (so please send me reports and photos of it for the next Newsletter). The agenda is on page 5, for first-timers please read my notes on page 15 – both show the address of the meeting, and for easy access use the Exhibition Road entrance. Remember to bring your PSG Membership Card (or you will be issued with a temporary one on the day).

In This Newsletter. Seems that Phyllium giganteum has started producing males, see the two articles on the subject on pages 16 and 18. We also have found an elusive female of the enormous Ctenomorpha gargantua see page 24 for details. One of my favourite articles is from the 1894 Harper’s Magazine – this article on phasmids is as fresh today as when it was written, read it on page 10.

2014 PSG Membership Cards. If you have paid your membership dues this year and did not attend the January meeting to collect your 2014 membership card, it will be enclosed with this Newsletter.

Paul Brock’s Book: A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain and Ireland, as advertised in the December 2013 Newsletter, will be available for sale at the July PSG Meeting @ £20 - retail is £28.95. Limited numbers so contact Judith to reserve a copy. Anyone missing out can order from Paul for collection at the AGM. Regards to all, Mike Smith (PS Please contribute to the next PSG Newsletter, see page 23 for details).

Michael Lazenby by Judith Marshall

We were sorry to hear that Michael died peacefully on 26 April, nine days after his 85th birthday, and send our sincere sympathy to his wife Frances; they were together for nearly 50 years.

In 1980 Michael and Frances were among the first members of the PSG (membership number 3), and were already much involved in rearing and studying many species of stick insect. They were always enthusiastic about rearing species new to culture, whilst ensuring that existing species were handed out to those who would care for them appropriately at PSG, AES and other meetings. The photo (right) shows Michael displaying friends at a local Queen’s Park Day. Michael and Frances were editors of the Newsletter for editions 20 – 49, from 1984 to 1991, contributing much themselves with observational notes, and all issues are available to read online via the PSG website.

Phasmid Studies Editor: Ed Baker and Judith Marshall. (For Judith’s contact details see “Chairman”, above). Ed’s details: The

Chairman: Judith Marshall. The Natural History Museum, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD. Tel: Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD. Tel: 0207 942 5610, E-mail: 0207 942 5975. E-mail: phasmidstudies@phasmid-study- [email protected]. or [email protected]. group.org.

Treasurer/Membership Secretary: Paul Brock. 2 Greenways Exhibitions: Paul Jennings. 89 Brackensdale Avenue, Derby, Road, Brockenhurst, SO42 7RN, E-mail: p.brock@phasmid- DE22 4AF. Tel: 01332 343477. E-mail: exhibitions@phasmid- study-group.org or [email protected]. . study-group.org.

Newsletter Editor: Mike Smith. 13 Runnacles Street, Silver End, Livestock Coordinators: Mark and Ian Bushell. 43 Bradford Witham, Essex, CM8 3QN. E-mail: newsletter@phasmid-study- Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 9AD. Tel: 01225 747047. E- group.org. mail: [email protected].

Webmaster: Natalie Ford (with assistance from Mike Strick, Merchandising: Mike Strick and Daren Moss. E-mail: Chris Pull, Nick Wadham, & Ed Baker). Contact via the PSG [email protected]. Web page, or E-mail: [email protected]. Other members: Phil Bragg and Ian Abercrombie.

PSG Mission Statement: To study and culture stick insects and leaf insects (phasmids), publish results, and foster the free exchange of species, allowing members to share livestock appropriate to their experience.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.3 LIVESTOCK REPORT by Ian Bushell AVAILABLE LIVESTOCK – June 2014 to Summer Meeting July 2014 The following species are currently available from Mark and Ian (contact details below):

Key: N – Nymph A – Adult O – Ova 284 Pharnacia ponderosa O 9 Extatosoma tiaratum O 294 Carausius detractus AO 70 Haaniella scabra AN 297 Hypocyrtus vittatus N 73 Phenacephorus cornucervi N 299 Neophasma subapterum ON 82 Rhaphiderus spiniger N 301 Brasidas foveolatus N 90 Rhamphosipyloidea gorkomi N 303 Orxines xiphias N 99 Epidares nolimetangere N 308 Onchestus rentzi O 160 Trachythorax maculicollis N 313 Manduria systropedon NO 161 Phenacephorus sepilokensis N 328 Andropromachus scutatus AN 163 Sipyloidea larryi OAN 329 Aretaon sp. 'PALAWAN' AN 182 Oxyartes lamellatus O 331 Dares philippinicus N 183 Sceptrophasma hispidulum N 337 Marmessoidea sp. Cuc Phuong O 203 Tirachoidea biceps O 340 Neohirasea fruhstorferi NO 205 Phaenopharos struthioneus O 342 Mnesilochus sp. Real O 221 Sceptrophasma langkawiensis NO 343 Myronides sp. Peleng Is Sulawesi N 236 Dimorphodes catenulatus N 344 Neohirasea nana N 248 Pylaemenes guangxiensis N 346 Paracalynda utilaensis O 264 Pseudophasma velutinum N 352 Sipyloidia biplagiata ONA 265 Abrosoma johorensis AN 353 Xenophasmina simile O 266 Agamemnon cornutus AO 355 Mnesilochus sp. Nabutaran OA 275 Lobolibethra panguana N Ramulus sp. Da Krong N 281 Pterinoxylus crassus O Candovia robinsoni O

Eggs and insects are free, but the member pays for the postal charges. Eggs will be sent by 1st Class post. Live insects will be sent, UK only, by next day/recorded/tracked delivery [currently about £7 a parcel]. Save postage and disappointment, pre-order for delivery at the Summer Meeting.

Members' Surplus Livestock: Your surplus livestock can be sent to our address, but please get in touch before sending any insects or eggs, particularly if the parcel is too large to fit through a letter box. Please also include your name and address as well as what species have been sent: Mark & Ian Bushell, 43 Bradford Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 9AN, Tel: 01225 767047. E-mail: [email protected].

Members' Surplus Livestock at the PSG Summer Meeting: We are looking forward to the Livestock Exchange at the Summer Meeting, but the usual pleas are made. All livestock and eggs are welcome but please ensure that: Each box is labelled with the species name & PSG No if it has one. If you are unsure there are plenty of experts available to advise you. Also include data on foodplants and notes of how you have kept them – useful for both the novice and the old hand. Check before you leave that all your stock has gone, and if it has not then please take it home with you (unless previously arranged with us).

An Easy PSG Crossword By Mike Smith (Answers on Page 21.)

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.4 PSG SUMMER MEETING Saturday, 5th July 2014

THE FLETT THEATRE & ATRIUM AREA, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, CROMWELL ROAD, LONDON, SW7 5BD, UK. * (FREE PUBLIC ENTRY to Natural History Museum, also the nearby Victoria & Albert and Science Museums)

Comments or ideas on what you would like to see at future PSG Meetings, or if you would be willing to give a talk or other offering at a meeting, or if you want to join the committee, tell Judith: E-mail:[email protected] or Tel: 020 7942 5610.

PLEASE BRING AND WEAR YOUR PSG MEMBERSHIP CARD AS A BADGE BRING YOUR OWN HOLDER, OR A HOLDER WILL BE PROVIDED.

AGENDA

(Any item may be reviewed on the day. Please help us run on time.)

10.00am – 11.30am ARRIVALS & INFORMAL GATHERING: Members are encouraged to exchange ideas & experiences, to view displays, and to take part in the “Name the Species” competition**. Please have a drink, biscuit or cake from the refreshment table***.

11.30am – 12.00 Noon STICKY the animated film of the Lord Howe Island stick insect Dryococelus australis, with introduction and comment by Mark Bushell.

12.00 Noon – 1.00pm EXPEDITIONS TO VIETNAM a talk by Joachim Bresseel on the many newly introduced species he has collected.

1.00pm – 2.00pm LUNCH*** also viewing of displays and merchandise – and finish that competition.

2.00pm – 2.30pm THE ICZN – the rules and how they result in name changes. A talk by Ed Baker.

2.30pm – 3.00pm THE COMPETITION ANSWERS AND RESULTS.

3.00pm - 4.00pm LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE****

4.00pm – 4.30pm CLOSURE OF MEETING

* For easy access, please use the Exhibition Road entrance.

** A selection of PSG Culture List species will be on display, some alive - by courtesy of Ian & Mark Bushell and Allan Harman – others are specimens from the NHM collection (with labels temporarily removed). Just fill-in the names and/or PSG numbers on the sheets provided.

*** Tea, coffee, squash, and biscuits will be available all day (from about 10.15 am), for a voluntary contribution, in the meeting room (courtesy of Judith). Food shops are available in the museum, offering good food at reasonable prices, but there may be queues. You are welcome to bring your own lunch, to eat in the meeting room or in the museum. You may also “donate” cakes, biscuits, etc, if you wish.

**** You are welcome to bring in your spare phasmids (you may also bring in other livestock eg mantids, cockroaches, millipedes, fruit beetles, etc) for free distribution to PSG members. You will also have the opportunity to take home livestock from the exchange table, though where numbers of livestock are limited not all members will be able to get their first choices. You are reminded to follow the rules as laid down concerning the Livestock Exchange: eg livestock should be given some foodstuff, and their container be clearly labelled with their scientific name & PSG number; the food plant they are being fed on, and your name & PSG number. Don't forget to check before you leave that all of your livestock has been distributed and, if not, please take them back home with you. Do not overcrowd the sticks, but also please use reasonably- sized containers (not too big), and do not spread the spare stock of common species over too many different containers. During the livestock exchange please do not crowd around the table, rather sit in the rows of seats and just raise your hand if you are interested in the livestock being offered.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.5 Sticks by Richard, David and Robbie Bradbury

Here are some comments and photographs from the Bradburys, who are becoming welcome, regular contributors to the Newsletter. It is these fascinating details that make stick keeping so interesting, and that helps make the Newsletter such a good read. Please send in your comments and photos.

CLEANING WHISKERS? Do phasmids with short antennae use a leg to flex antennae into the mouth to slowly lick them clean? Of those with longer antennae, I have seen Carausius morosus, Sipiloidea sipylus, calcarata, Bud Wings and Jungle Nymphs doing this. See photo on right.

EATING CARDBOARD. It has long been held as a joke that the cardboard box has more nourishment than the processed food or cereal that it contains. On this contentious point, some phasmids have carried out a long term voluntary trial. After more than five years, the culture is thriving. The benefit from having cardboard boxes and tubes to co- snuggle-roost in the day and nibble at night. This can get noisy. In this photo through a plastic window, a female Eurycantha calcarata looks up from chewing the edge of a Dutch Apple Pie box used as cover for day roosting. There is plenty of fresh ivy and bramble available and water to drink. Nibbling episodes tend to be short, apparently deliberate punctuations to a leaf feeding session. Both genders do it. Thin box and packet card is favoured over the thicker card of tubular cores from paper towel rolls. {Editor’s note: if photographing through glass or plastic, try not to use a flash.]

BACK FROM THE DEAD. This newly emerged Lacewing was washed out from bramble leaves being prepared for stick insects on 20th February 2014. Although it looked drowned, on being left on a fold of tissue for a couple of hours it completely revived. So, instead of becoming fish food, it flew off into a brief interlude of spring sunshine. Also, in spite of the early season and wet weather, there are already aphids on some emerging bramble leaves.

Questions are prompted. Is having some members of a population able to emerge early from hibernation a beneficial behaviour to take advantage of exceptional weather or climate variation? If so, then perhaps this is behaviour commonly found in more southerly parts of Europe where Lacewings and Aphids occur along with milder winters and earlier spring times. Perhaps being able to revive from being waterlogged and apparently drowned is a capability conferring evolutionary and ecological advantages in a wetter climate? In which case, it may be present in stick insects from New Zealand, being another notably wet place. So, has anyone fortunate enough to be close to colonies of established British stick insects had a search to see if any of them have emerged early? This is always provided the eggs have not been washed away or drowned.

SPIDERS IN BRAMBLE. It is late winter, going on early springtime. Should we continue to check and wash bramble before feeding our phasmids? Here is a very beautiful reason to continue diligent checking and washing bramble before feeding our phasmids. This photo is a well fed, plump, and rather beautiful part grown 8mm body length Aranea diademata or Garden Cross Spider. Also known to some children as a Socks Spider from the appearance of wearing stripey football socks.….

Here in Reading, a milder part of the Thames Valley, I found this one on 8th January and another, similar size on 20th February 2014. It would seem a reasonable indication of significant insect populations surviving and active over the winter. If so then a rapid increase in spider populations is to be expected as soon as spring time warms up. Therefore this year it would seem prudent to continue checking and washing leaves before feeding our phasmids. Bonus is, all sorts of interesting things are likely to be found, possibly even new colonies of native stick insects.

CORRECTION TO DECEMBER 2012 PSG NEWSLETTER. On the PSG Newsletter’s front page, the picture of Tony James was wrongly titled. It was not in Devon, and was not his garden. It was in fact of a hedge close to his house, near Helston, in Cornwall! Apologies for this error.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.6 PSG Winter Meeting, 18th Jan 2014 by Jack McMinn

When I was first invited to attend a Phasmid Study Day at the Natural History Museum by my biology teacher Ms [Becky] Webber (who herself is a keen stick insect keeper, having a small collection living at the back of the classroom, much to the dismay of the more sensitive pupils), I had no idea what to think. Genuinely. Completely stumped. Would it be a bunch of dusty professors gathered in a hall discussing the cumulative inner leg measurements of Heteropteryx dilatata for 5 hours? Or something more than that? Knowing nothing but a vague schedule, we set off from Lancing onwards on a voyage of discovery and adventure - more specifically via the Southern Service from Shoreham then along from Victoria to South Kensington westwards on the District Line, but that doesn’t sound nearly as dramatic or exciting. I mean, I gotta get people to keep reading this article, I have to take a few artistic liberties. Cut me some slack. Sheesh. Anyway, our heart-poundingly thrilling voyage eventually led to that great, wonderful out-of-place slab of terracotta with monkeys carved into it in a fit of simian-inspired artistry – the Natural History Museum. An ascent up the Exhibition Road stairs soon led us to the lecture hall, which was already chock full of people of all ages – but all with that certain glimmer in their eye. Out went the idea of just a bunch of elitist stuck-up professors – thank goodness.

Unfortunately, we did arrive just as a lecture was ending, but from what we saw, it played out like an episode of Sherlock – Jack and the centipede. fascinating and with lots of inside jokes that probably made more…… sense to the regular lot than us newcomers. . Still very interesting though.

Lunch break, and some of our number, me included, took this opportunity to have a bit of wander about the venue, but not before gazing over the line-up of stick insects, each divided into little boxes. I myself wasn’t looking for anything, since the last time I tried to keep phasmids they managed to escape and rampage through my house in a fit of insectoid rage, but sure enough many of my colleagues were eyeing up the goods, especially Ms Webber, who planned to add to her already sizable collection. It was around this time that the scariest part of the trip occurred – nothing to do with the 12 inch centipede of certain doom (more on him/her/it/Its Royal Deadliness later) but how whenever I opened some of the opaque margarine boxes where some of the insects were being kept, I always thought a great swarm would pour out of it, a la Pandora’s Box, consuming the whole room with small tropical invertebrates. My incompetence in keeping stick insects in any form of enclosure playing up I guess. It was always tricky making sure no legs would get trapped when closing the boxes too. Very fiddly.

The next talk was by the prestigious Ian Abercrombie, who had been generously hyped up to me by Ms Webber and various others as the man to go to for all things stick insect related. It was he who owned the star specimen in the lecture hall’s backroom – an enormous gangly insect which clambered over anything you plonked it on, including people’s faces – and it was he who had the greatest stories to tell. From our time with him during the lecture and talking with him alongside his enormous green pet, you could tell that the hype we received was well deserved and his exciting tales were the kind to which you could listen for hours. There was range to these stories too, from insect cataloguing in Borneo, to members of the House of Windsor getting their groins attacked by giant leeches (this story in particular feels a bit special, as it’s probably the only weird story about the Royal family that hasn’t made it into the . Daily Mail). .Another prominent attendant to this occasion was a Mr Nick Wadham, who was the owner of the aforementioned centipede, and in fact many other creatures, due to him running an educational company for informing people via presentation about the creepy-crawlies and bugs of this world. He gave a very interesting speech on the centipede and we all watched in near-silence, because as far as I know, you don’t bother someone who literally is holding a “fast-moving vector for venom” in their hand and thus has the power to “sting everyone in the room” if anyone irritated him. Luckily we didn’t peeve him off to that extent, and he managed to deliver lots of information about the calmly whilst trying not to get his finger stuck between two chitin mandibles at any point. I myself wish to be a natural history presenter myself, so talking to him afterwards and receiving his advice was invaluable.

At last the day came to a close and, carrying many a phasmid of many a breed, we headed home. The event as a whole was not what I expected and I’m glad it wasn’t. It was fascinating, exciting, amusing (in places) – but most importantly it was accessible. People of vastly different phasmid experience could enter that lecture hall and would Brave Emily leave just as informed and interested – there was no specialist terms thrown in to alienate, or any simplification thrown in……… to patronise. . It was a perfect day out, and I’m glad I came along.

(Photos: Sam Webber). Jack and Emily are A-Level Biology students from Lancing College. June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.7 Phasmid Growth Study – Diapherodes gigantea by Mark Jackson

Between March and August last year I conducted a growth study on a culture of the rather wonderful species Diapherodes gigantea. It was a fairly limited study comprised of just 10 specimens but it does give some indication of the typical growth rates for this species under particular conditions, described below.

Rearing Notes: I fed this culture exclusively on . The Eucalyptus species offered were E. neglecta, E. nova-anglica, E. pauciflora, E. dalrympleana, E. gunnii and E. perriniana. It appeared that E. nova-anglica and E. dalrympleana were preferred at all stages of insect growth and that E. pauciflora and E. neglecta were not popular with nymphs but readily accepted by adults. I assume this was due to the thickness / toughness of the leaves of these species.

All hatching and most moulting occurred at night though eating and drinking also occurred during the day. The only moulting that took place during the day were the final moults of two specimens (a male and a female). 1st and 2nd instar nymphs appeared especially thirsty, adults less so but would occasionally drink water droplets when the foliage was sprayed. First instar nymphs drink well almost immediately after hatching but took no food for the first 5 days to 1 week. It was possible to sex them accurately in the week leading up to their 3rd moult.

I kept this culture in moderate humidity and sprayed the foliage lightly most mornings during their development. They were kept in ventilated tanks, a faunabox until 3rd instar then a larger more ventilated cage for the rest of their development. The first eggs were laid on 30th August, about four weeks after the first female matured.

Summary of Results: The study resulted in a number of interesting findings. Firstly, the newly hatched nymphs ranged in size from 18mm to 21mm, however it appears this is no indication of the potential size of the adult insect. One of the largest of the 1st instar nymphs did mature to be the largest adult female in the group but the other of equal hatchling size was one of the smallest females as an adult. Also, most of the larger hatchlings in this study turned out to be female and most of the smaller hatchlings male but, although notable, this is certainly not conclusive due to the small group of specimens studied.

The results also show that males of this species moult five times and females six times before reaching the adult stage. The largest adult in this study was a female with a body length of 167mm but the smallest female was quite a bit shorter at just 145mm. However, recently I have had a female D. gigantea from the same stock mature to an impressive 182mm. Unfortunately she was not part of the study so this data isn’t included in the results table but I thought it worth noting, nevertheless. On the other end of the spectrum, one nymph hatched measuring only 16mm but died after just a few weeks.

The study also showed that, under the conditions at which these specimens were raised, the time period between each moult was rather consistent. Given that the first nymph hatched in March when the house was rather cool - at an average of 18C - and the last moult occurred in August when the temperature was regularly about 26C, one might expect to see a significant change in the growth rate. However, a period of approximately 3 weeks was typically the norm between most recorded moults. That said there was one recording of just 15 days between moults 2 and 3 of a male specimen, the shortest period noted. The longest periods recorded were, perhaps unsurprisingly, before the final moult. This was especially noticeable in the females with the two longest specimens also taking the longest time to reach their final moults, with final between-moult durations of 27 and 28 days. In all, the female specimens took between 124 and 133 days from hatching to final moult whereas the males Christmas bush. took between 90 and 104 days. (Wikipedia) Photos, top to bottom: Instars, 1st 19mm, 2nd 32mm, 3rd 47mm, 4th 68mm, 5th 93mm, Adult Female..

PHASMID GROWTH STUDY Species: Diapherodes gigantea Provenance: Grenada Culture Temp.: 17C - 27C

Moult 1 (to Moult 2 (to 3rd Moult 3 (to 4th Specimen Hatch Length 2nd Instar) Instar) Instar) No. Date (mm) Date Duration Length Date Duration Length Date Duration Length 1 22/03/2013 19 13/04/2013 22 days 32 03/05/2013 20 days 47 27/05/2013 24 days 66 2 02/04/2013 18 24/04/2013 22 days 31 13/05/2013 19 days 47 06/06/2013 24 days 64 3 05/04/2013 18 26/04/2013 21 days 30 15/05/2013 19 days 45 07/06/2013 23 days 63 4 09/04/2013 21 02/05/2013 23 days 35 24/05/2013 22 days 50 12/06/2013 19 days 70 5 10/04/2013 20 02/05/2013 22 days 32 24/05/2013 22 days 45 12/06/2013 19 days 65 6 15/04/2013 18 07/05/2013 22 days 32 27/05/2013 20 days 46 15/06/2013 19 days 65 7 16/04/2013 21 08/05/2013 22 days 34 28/05/2013 20 days 48 16/06/2013 19 days 66 8 18/04/2013 19 11/05/2013 22 days 31 04/06/2013 24 days 46 19/06/2013 15 days 67 9 23/04/2013 18 13/05/2013 20 days 32 04/06/2013 22 days 47 20/06/2013 16 days 66 10 30/04/2013 19 20/05/2013 18 days 33 08/06/2013 19 days 48 24/06/2013 16 days 66 Continued on next page. June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.8 PHASMID GROWTH STUDY continued from previous page.

Moult 4 (to 5th Moult 5 (to 6th Moult 6 (to 7th Specimen Instar) Instar) Instar) Sex Duration No. Date Duration Length Date Duration Length Date Duration Length to Adult 1 17/06/2013 21 days 93 10/07/2013 23 days 124 01/08/2013 22 days 145 Female 132 days 2 23/06/2013 17 days 95 14/07/2013 24 days 125 10/08/2013 27 days 160 Female 133 days 3 24/06/2013 17 days 90 14/07/2013 23 days 110 Male 103 days 4 02/07/2013 20 days 100 18/07/2013 16 days 130 11/08/2013 24 days 150 Female 124 days 5 04/07/2013 22 days 95 23/07/2013 17 days 110 Male 102 days 6 05/07/2013 20 days 88 28/07/2013 23 days 110 Male 104 days 7 06/07/2013 20 days 98 27/07/2013 21 days 128 24/08/2013 28 days 167 Female 130 days 8 07/07/2013 18 days 90 28/07/2013 21 days 115 Male 100 days 9 08/07/2013 18 days 87 29/07/2013 21 days 105 Male 97 days 10 12/07/2013 18 days 85 31/07/2013 19 days 104 Male 90 days

Nymphs Adult male. drinking.

Stick Talk is e-mailed to around 640 subscribers in over 40 countries worldwide and is a list dedicated to stick insects: queries, answers, information, etc. As a Stick Talk list member, you will receive a short e-mail every few days. The Stick Talk list is totally independent of the PSG, though many Stick Talk list members are also members of the PSG. If you want to join the list, visit the website: www.sticktalk.com and click on “Join”. It's totally free of charge; and if you do not like it, just send an e-mail asking to be taken off the list. It is also moderated; so it's secure, safe from bad language, and there will be no spam.

Below is a sample entry from Stick Talk by PSG member Mike Strick, on answering a Stick Talk query about giving UV lighting to phasmids. There were other replies, but what Mike said here was very interesting – and it made me think that maybe I should light up my animal shed in the day, as the small window lets in little light.

UV LIGHT FOR PHASMID CAGES? I've been lighting my phasmid tanks for several years now and have found it definitely seems to improve the overall health of the insects. I think it's important to stress that there's no indication that UV light benefits them, in fact it is probably the opposite, so lights designed with a high UV output for reptile basking are probably not a good idea, what's needed is the same full spectrum tubes that are made to help indoor/terrarium plant growth. In fact, I suspect that it is at least partly the improved health of the food plants that benefits the insects. I have ours on a 12 hour on, 12 hour off cycle, which should provide a clear day/night period and possibly helps trigger feeding in insects that usually start feeding at dusk. Mike Strick.

If you have any comments or experience on this subject, please send details to the Newsletter.

PSG MEMBERSHIP FORMS

If you want any copies of the colourful, new Membership Form eg for handing out at shows, demonstrations, museums, zoos, pet shops, etc. please print them from the PSG website, or contact Paul Brock (contact details on page 3). Many thanks.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.9 Harper’s Magazine Article on Phasmids by Mike Smith

I am most grateful to PSG member Adam Conway, who kindly let me have sight of his Harper’s Monthly Magazine of February 1894. He told me: “I must confess that I have had this for a little while, I got it from eBay when I was randomly looking at phasmid related items. It certainly proved to be interesting to go back that far and may prove to be of some interest for the history of some species.” Harper’s Magazine is still published now, but no longer for “One Shilling” – that’s only 5p in new money (but a lot of money then).

“Interesting”, wow, this is dynamite. I found the whole article, which covered some 8 pages, to be riveting reading. And the pictures were superb. I had to cut it down to less pages, and did so with a cut & paste job. I know it is not ideal, but hopefully you will still enjoy reading it. Note that the pictures are not the original size nor in their original places, and in USA they call stick insects “Walking Sticks”.

If you want to see the article in its original, beautiful entirety, a copy has been placed on the PSG Website. Also, Adam has donated the original magazine to the PSG library. (I sought permission from Harper’s magazine to reproduce this article, and they advised me it was in the public domain and so there is no copyright left on it).

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.10 June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.11 June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.12 June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.13

The ever-popular livestock table at PSG meetings.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.14 Unusual Mating Behaviour in Bacteria horni (PSG 330) by Mark Jackson

Last month several of my large female Bacteria horni nymphs moulted to what I assumed was their final adult stage. I drew this conclusion because all had formed sizable operculum and within a day or so of these moults all females had become paired with males that had moulted to adult stage a few weeks earlier. I was a little surprised and somewhat disappointed at the relatively small length of the females. They were around 12 to 13 cm in body length which is quite a bit smaller than I had expected from what I had read about this species. I surmised that either the conditions under which I had raised them had somehow not been favourable for good growth or that the culture stock was beginning to weaken through the interbreeding of captive specimens.

However, last week I was curious and a bit concerned to see one of the females hanging from her back legs with head curled forward in the classic pre-moulting posture. Sure enough, and very much to my surprise, she went on to moult! Subsequently two more of my 'adult' B. horni females also moulted, all to a much more respectable length of around 16 to 18 cm, as I had originally expected. So it would appear that the adult males of this species are particularly 'eager' to mate and will readily try with sub-adult females. Since then I have noticed on several occasions that adult male B. horni also attempt to mate with other similarly sized species with which they share a community enclosure. Adult females of Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis (PSG 215) seem particularly 'popular' (see photo). I also managed to take a few photos of a female B. horni in the process of her final moult with a male still paired with her during the entire procedure. Eventually she was complete free of her old exoskeleton with which the male was still coupled (see photo). However, within a few hours of her successful moult the male had disconnected from her old 'skin' and had again paired with the - now adult - female!

I discussed this phenomenon with Mark and Ian Bushell at the PSG AGM in January and they informed me that it's fairly common for an adult male to die whilst attached to a female and then fail to detach, resulting in the adult female moving about the cage and feeding as normal with the dead and decomposing male hanging from the tip of her abdomen. Quite fascinating behaviour (if not slightly disturbing)! There are some great pictures of this odd pairing behaviour online at Mieke Duytschaever's fantastic stick insect website, www.wandelendetakken.be, which is in Dutch but has some beautiful photos of many phasmid species and is also very informative if you speak Dutch or use a translation website to view it in English.

B. horni paired with Male paired with exoskeleton. Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis.

PSG Summer Meeting, Saturday 7th July 2014 - in the Flett Theatre by Mike Smith

Yes, another fantastic meeting awaits all PSG members. Just take a look at the agenda on page 5 and see for yourself. Please note that this particular meeting will be held in the Flett Theatre and Atrium area. This is easily accessed by entering the NHM by the Earth Sciences entrance in Exhibition Road. Once inside go up the steps, turn left and go up the staircase until you reach the glassed-in Atrium area, on the left. (The museum’s main entrance is in Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD).

Entry to the meeting (and to the local Natural History, Science, and Victoria & Albert Museums) is completely free. When attending the meeting, please bring your PSG 2014 Membership Card with you (members who have lost or forgotten their membership cards will still be able to access the meeting, but checks will be made to ensure they are members, and a temporary members’ name badge will be issued). If you have paid your membership dues this year and did not attend the January meeting, your 2014 membership card will be enclosed with this Newsletter. Non-members who accompany members will be given a white name badge to wear. Only members can vote and/or collect free livestock. The queues for the museum can be quite long, but still usually take only 15-20 minutes maximum. Please note bags are searched on entry for “dangerous” objects so knives, scissors, etc should not be brought in. The nearest tube train station is South Kensington which is on the Circle, District, and Piccadilly Lines. Bus routes include: 14, 49, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414, and C1. But before you travel best check with London Transport for any planned closures (eg for engineering work). Phone 0207 222 1234 (+44 207 222 1234 from overseas), or go to the website www.tfl.gov.uk.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.15 Phyllium giganteum Male by Mark Jackson At the PSG AGM in January this year I was fortunate to receive, among other fantastic additions to my phasmid collection, two beautiful and large Phyllium giganteum (PSG 72) nymphs. It's a species that I haven't kept before although I had reared P. bioculatum with limited success many years ago, so I was anxious to ensure they had an optimum environment to develop to maturity and, hopefully, produce plenty of ova. Fortunately I had a spare glass terrarium so I was able to give them (and two pairs of small Cranidium gibbosum nymphs which I was also very lucky to pick up at the meeting) a roomy home with space to moult and plenty of fresh bramble to work through.

Fortunately all six nymphs have been developing well with all of the C. gibbosum moulting in the first few weeks after setting them up in the new enclosure. The Phyllium however were taking longer to moult but seemed to be eating and looked perfectly healthy. In any case, a couple of weeks ago I decided to lift them out of their enclosure and give them a closer inspection. I thought it a little odd that although they were both exactly the same size and, I presumed, at the same stage of development, one of the nymphs had no visible wings forming whereas the other had very clearly developed nymphal wing buds. Especially strange given that, to my knowledge, this is a species raised entirely through parthenogenesis [a form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization] and so there shouldn't really be any significant difference between nymphs at the same larval stage.

However, last week I was both relieved and excited to find that one of the nymphs (the one with no visible wing buds) had moulted successfully and was now considerably larger than its companion but, oddly, still without visible wing buds. Then last night the other nymph moulted... and to my utter surprise appears to be an adult male!!! I took several photos (see right) of this beautiful and rather unusual specimen and emailed them to Mark and Ian Bushell for visual confirmation. Naturally they were also quite excited by this development and I will, of course, be passing it on to more experienced members of the PSG for research purposes and then, hopefully, on to the Natural History Museum for their collection. We have no idea at this stage if it is a true male or a masculin-ised female and whether or not it is fertile, although I assume this would be highly unlikely given that it has come from parthenogenetic stock, but whatever the findings it was indeed a rather marvelous surprise!

The Stick “Tip Exchange” by Mike Smith At the Winter PSG Meeting someone said to me that they had found the Tip Exchange in the last Newsletter to be very useful. Sadly no-one else has contributed any further ideas, so for now I’ll add a couple more of my own again, but please do send in YOUR tips for stick keeping.

Firstly, hatching eggs. Generally, eggs need warmth, humidity, and no mould. This can be difficult to ………achieve. with many mediums, eg sand, soil, leaf mould, wood chips, or vermiculate. .But I find moss to be a very useful medium, and each spring I find it on my lawn in huge amounts. I use those containers you get crickets in at pet shops, line it with moss, put the stick eggs on the moss, and keep the moss damp and the container warm (eg put it in an airing cupboard, or I just put it on a heat mat). I find this system works very well and the moss helps prevent mould from forming – however, if there is any frass (stick droppings) with the eggs, then mould will occur and the moss will die, so best to ensure you put only eggs in there. Another idea I heard about, but have not tried, is the use of plaster of Paris as the medium. Apparently it has similar properties to the moss, but presumably does not die and so can be used over and over again.

Now back to the subject of keeping stick nymphs of different species together. I had a phone call from a member querying if they could let nymphs of different species share the same cage. This question was answered to some extent in a previous Newsletter. Basically, most nymphs would get on together okay, providing there was adequate amounts of suitable food available for them. Obviously they would have to be species with similar heat and humidity requirements. But I will suggest that aggressive species like Eurycantha or Heteropteryx should not share a cage with a much softer species like Pink Wings. Also, while it should be okay at a young age, be wary of letting other sticks share with the Leaf Insect varieties when bigger, as they might start eating the leaf insects thinking they are food stuff. June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.16 Sticks in the News – Rare Fossils of Phasmids by Mike Smith In March this year there was a lot of excitement about the finding of a fossilised phasmid. It was summed up nicely in the following report. (The critter looks a bit like the plant in the photos, amazing).

126 Million Year Old Cretophasmomima Melanogramma Is Oldest Stick Insect To Mimic Plants By News Staff http://www.science20.com/print/132141 An ancient stick insect species, Cretophasmomima melanogramma from Inner Mongolia at the Jehol locality, may have mimicked plant leaves for defense as far back as 126 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, according to a new study. Many insects have developed defense mechanisms, including the ability to mimic the surrounding environment. Stick and leaf insects mimic plants from their environment, but scientists know little about the original of this interaction due to little or no previous stick insect fossil records showing this adaptation. The scientists discovered three specimens of Cretophasmomima melanogramma, one female and two males. The species possessed adaptive features that make it resembling a plant recovered from the same locality. At left: Cretophasmomima melanogramma at right: Membranifolia admirabilis. Credit: left: O. Béthoux, right: F. Jacques The insects' wings have parallel dark lines and when in the resting position, likely produced a tongue-like shape concealing the abdomen. Fossils from a relative of the ginkgo plant have been documented in the area with similar tongue-shaped leaves along with multiple longitudinal lines. The authors suggest the insect used this plant as a model for concealment. The new fossils indicate that leaf mimicry was a defensive strategy performed by some insects as early as in the Early Cretaceous, but that additional refinements characteristic of recent forms, such as a curved part of the fore legs for hiding the head, were still lacking. The new fossil suggests that leaf mimicry predated the appearance of twig and bark mimicry in these types of insects. The diversification of small-sized, insect-eating birds and Citation: Wang M, Béthoux O, Bradler S, Jacques FMB, Cui Y, et al. (2014). mammals may have triggered the acquisition of such doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091290 primary defenses.

There is an interesting paper on the subject titled: Under Cover at Pre-Angiosperm Times: A Cloaked Phasmatodean Insect from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, by Maomin Wang, Olivier Béthoux, Sven Bradler, Frédéric M. B. Jacques, Yingying Cui, and Dong Ren. It includes these photos (on the right) which are reproduced - a bit bigger, and with permission, on The Colour Page, Page 3.

New Book on the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect.

Many thanks to Paul Brock and Rick Wilkinson for drawing our attention to this forthcoming book on the LHISI. Below are the front cover, and the wording from the back cover. I am informed that the publisher of the book is Media Dynamics Pty Ltd in Brisbane, Australia. The cover price will be A$34.95 – I make that approx. £20. Paul Brock will write a review of the book for the December PSG Newsletter. The book is soft cover, 160 pages long, with about 150 full-colour photos and illustrations. Dame Jane Goodall has written a foreword. A link to this book is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Return-of-the-Phasmid/619151198178258.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.17 Phyllium giganteum PSG72 Sexual Reproduction? By Per Thyme

I am not an experienced Phyllium breeder and for sure not an educated nature scientist. But I have been keeping and breeding fish, birds, reptiles and insects for more than 40 years, and I came across the Phylliums a few years ago. At an exhibition I bought five nymphs which I tried to grow together with my katydids [USA term for bush-crickets/Tettigoniidae] at the time. I was not successful with this combination, then at eBay I found a UK supplier of eggs from Phyllium siccifolium, well I did know before ordering that I would probably receive Phyllium philippinicum as these species are often mixed up, and almost all in capture are PSG278. So I was fine with this. I purchased 50 eggs which hatched at a great rate.

From these I got a great feel for handling and breeding Phyllium, at least I thought so. My PSG278 breeding was quite successful, egg hatching rate was almost 100%, and the nymphs’ survival rate almost 100%. This brings me to another issue – population size.... I did at one time raise more than 1000 philippinicum and I learned that the Danish market for Phyllium is very limited.

Starting up giganteum. I therefore felt pretty comfortable breeding Phyllium when I came around five L2 to L4 nymphs of giganteum. I thought that would be an interesting challenge as well. I succeeded growing all five to adult. I collected the eggs, and from these began the foundation of my giganteum culture today. These five are what I consider my first generation. They were kept in an 45x60x60cm Exo-terra terrarium, with top light and a 30W heating mat under the vivarium. 75% of the top was covered with plastic to keep the humidity high.

Second generation. I collected probably something like 400 eggs from my first generation. I tried different medias in the hatching boxes, but despite all efforts I had less than a 30% hatching rate in this generation. But the real challenge was keeping the L1 nymphs alive, I hatched more than 100 nymphs and I tried to keep them as I keep my philippinicum, I even tried to keep them together with philippinicum nymphs. As food I offered bramble, and oak - but I was not able to keep them alive for more than a few weeks at a time. I had only nine nymphs left of L1 and L2, and a single L3, and I had to try something different or give up raising giganteum. I arranged a new vivarium in an old aquarium, as it was in the wintertime I had an American Red Oak “forest” raised from acorns which I placed in the aquarium as food. The only ventilation was a small triangle in the corner. Under the vivarium I placed a 20W heating mat and on top a lamp. For the next two months I sprayed water every day. All nine grew and moulted their skin without any problems. I’ve learnt that the temperature must exceed 25 °C during day, the humidity should be high, and if humidity drops it is important to spray so that the nymphs can drink. Following these simple rules worked for me and ensured close to a 100% survial rate Illustration 1: Phyllium giganteum male. Males! When the first nymphs reached L4 or L5 I could see that a couple of nymphs had brown middle legs; which I found interesting, but not more than that. The first specimen to reach adult was a nice perfect female. But a couple of days later one of the brown legged reached adult and to my surprise it was a perfectly developed male. Browsing the Internet showed that it was unusual but not the first time that this had happened. I tried to figure out whether it was a true male or just a “look alike”. I contacted several forums on the Internet to help me figure out what it was, many had opinions, many had been told something, but I was not able to get my hands on anything which could convince me. A couple of weeks later the second brown legged reached adult and came out as a perfect male as well. Unfortunately the males didn't live for long, 3-4 weeks after reaching adult they didn't look well and I don't think that any of them lived more than five weeks.

Third generation. I collected more than 500 eggs from second generation, this time I was carefully collecting eggs twice a week and placing them in humid hatching boxes. The boxes were in my living room next to the vivariums at a temperature around 20-25 °C, and exposed for “day light” from the vivariums. After approximately six months the first eggs hatched and the hatching rate was much better this time, more than 90%. I set up a vivarium copying the successful one from second generation and using red oak as food. The result was amazing, I lost almost no nymphs in the first levels, which soon forced me to set up additional vivariums. Though I tried to sell eggs and nymphs I ended up with a nice collection of adults and I did collect more than 3000 eggs which were regularly harvested and placed in labelled hatching boxes.

Illustration 2: Three male nymphs. More males. I have examined this generation carefully to spot males, and out of more than 500 specimens I have spotted four males which are now in the last two nymph levels. These numbers are raising some questions and leads me to my real reason for writing this article to share my experience. Why did 22% of my second generation turn out to be males and only 0.6% in third generation - and are they real males?

Considerations. I have spent many hours researching giganteum males, and I learned that scientific information is very limited, in fact the males were first described in 1994 by Paul Brock. I have discussed the males with breeders claiming that it cannot be real males since they are clones of a female, but how can you be sure. It is known that some fish can change gender from female to male even as adult. It is also ……………………….… June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.18 common knowledge to reptile breeders that you can change the split between males and females by changing the hatching temperature. Aphids clone in good times, and produce males when food is limited - so why not giganteum?

Fourth generation - Experimenting Right now I am Illustration 3: Collection of dried giganteum males . carrying out some experiments to prove or reject some of my theories. Experiment one: Sexual reproduction A vivarium with four males and three females was arranged, the males and two females are now dead and the last female is still dropping eggs. I have collected 260 eggs from the three “fertilized” females. The eggs are still hatching, and right now the oldest nymphs has reached L4, but I have not spotted any males yet. Experiment two: Control group To have a control group to compare to my “fertilized” population. I separated one female and took notes and documented the life cycle of laying eggs and hatching.. As you can see from the graph, she dropped the first egg 40 days after moulting to adult, produced 84 eggs of which 70 have hatched (with a hatching time at 5.5 months), and she lived as adult for 130 days. What I find amazing is the precision of the hatching. In this experiment eggs were collected every few days and placed in a small hatching box on kitchen paper. Temperature was kept at 24-26°C, and humidity was kept high by daily spraying the eggs. It is important to …. have these conditions in mind as I have Illustration 5 :Hatching Boxes experienced giganteum eggs hatching after more than 11 months under less controlled environmental conditions. Experiment three: Cooked eggs In my second generation two out of nine surviving nymphs were males. The eggs were not collected regularly and therefore many eggs were exposed to heat from the heating mat for many days. I have tried to reproduce this. Right now I have a hatching box and 50 “cooked” eggs have started to hatch.

Next steps. I have not any further experiments planned and it will take months before that I can see if any of my ongoing experiments are successful – some maybe years. But I will Illustration 4: Phyllium giganteum mating hopefully be able to publish an article on my findings later on. If you have inputs to my experiments or experience on breeding giganteum, please don't hesitate to contact me on………… www. phyllium.dk.

This table is best seen in colour Phyllium giganteum PSG72 Illustration 6: Table of on The Colour Page, Page 2. giganteum eggs and hatching

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.19 Sticks in the News “STICKY” by Mike Smith.

Yes, the humble stick insect has made the international news again. This time in the form of an animated film by Jilli Rose of Bespoke Animation. This is her write-up and poster for the film. “Exiled from the tropical paradise where they evolved, a tiny population of remarkable stick insects dodged extinction by hiding under a single windswept bush, on the world's tallest sea stack, for 80 years. Thanks to a dedicated team of scientists they're now living safely in captivity, but when can they go home?

This is the preview of our new film Sticky, a fully animated short documentary about the stick insects from Lord Howe Island. We put this section online for our crowdfunders back in April. The film's finished now, a mighty 20 minutes long, and we plan to get it to a film festival near you in 2014.

Keep in touch with its progress over at facebook.com/StickyShortFilm and if you know of a festival that would be a good fit, do please let us know. We'd love to hear from you.”

In an e-mail, Jilli said of the video: “It's about the stick insects from Lord Howe Island here in Australia, their near-extinction, and the forests that are struggling without them. I made the film specifically to try to inspire viewers to care about the fate of animals they may not usually think of as 'cute' or 'cuddly'.

It's suitable for all ages and celebrates the persistence of life, the passion and adventure embedded in science, and the little creatures underfoot. It was a labour of love for me, its animator and director, and represents a full year of work.”

If you'd like to see a preview, there's a seven-minute section from the film online at: https://vimeo.com/64406273. I have not seen the whole film, but the preview was very good and, though it was easy to follow, it should help if you already knew the story of the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (LHISI), eg as retold by me in the June and December PSG Newsletters 2012. Following is a review of the film by Gwen Pearson of the Wired Magazine. (Ref: …………. st http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/02/sticky-stick-insect-sticky-situation/). It was awarded 1 place (films under 40 minutes), Films for the Forest, SXSW, 2014. For a copy of the DvD go to http://www.bespokeanimation.com. It costs A$21.45 (about £12) including post and packing. Also, it will be shown at the PSG Summer Meeting.

A Review by Gwen Pearson. Sticky: New Animated Film Will Break Your Heart

The critically endangered Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis) story is now told in a visually stunning new film, “Sticky” by Jilli Rose. The first public premier will be at Cinequest in San Jose in March 2014. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy, so I could view the whole short. It’s about 20 minutes long.

The musical score is haunting; and the historic loss of biodiversity is heart-breaking and creatively illustrated. Every frame of the film is lovely and drenched with colour. I haven’t cried this hard over an animated film since “Grave of the Fire Flies”. Sticky tells the story of the demise of the tree lobster, and its amazing second chance at life. I actually found myself removing spoilers from this review, since I don’t want to dilute the emotional gut punch of the film’s beginning, and then the optimistic “But It Got Better!” of the end.

The video is narrated by one of the members of the team that travelled to Ball’s Pyramid and helped to bring tree lobsters back to the mainland for a captive breeding program. So many (Above) Rohan Cleave with an LHISI conservation stories are grim and worrying, it’s easy to feel hopeless in the face of them. I want to Dryococelus australis. drop a good story into the mix, to uplift and hopefully energize viewers… and to inspire them to care about the fate of creatures that may not be what they usually consider ‘cute’ or ‘cuddly’”, says (Below) Other pictures from the film film director and animator Rose.

Ref: http://www.samachar.com/sticky-new-animated-film-will-break-your-heart-ocffM2bibbc.html

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.20 Insect Man at Prances 27.4.14 by Mike Smith To celebrate St George’s Day, which of course is 23rd April, the 1st Heybridge Scouts laid on an event at Prances (their campsite in Wickham Bishops, Essex). They had again invited me to bring along some of my critters and to have a stand at their show. From past experience, I chose to have my stand inside the hall again, but in fact the weather was quite good so I could have gone outside.

As in previous years, I took along one of my Mexican Red Knee tarantulas, 3 species of cockroach, some millipedes, and of course lots of stick insects. (Obviously, I was careful over which ones I let be handled). I had a big branch of bramble on the table with six sticks set free on it, which added a bit of interest. I also took in Sid, my corn snake, who as usual stole the show. I brought in some dried specimens of various critters, mainly stick insects, and quite a few handouts, including PSG Membership Forms (and some said they plan to join). I had the tarantula in a sealed container; many visitors wanted to hold her. In fact, she is very docile and they probably could My stand. have done so without a problem, but I did not want to chance any accidents.

The sticks were very popular, with many visitors wanting to hold them. There were also many visitors who were surprised at how many different species of sticks there were, as often they had only seen the Indians. I not only brought some live stick insects, but also dried specimens, and lots of pictures of other species, so there were lots of stick species around for comparison.

A few visitors said they had kept or still kept sticks, which was nice to hear. But none were members of the PSG, so I handed them some application forms for consideration.

There were lots of other stalls around, and some very old cars. But happily I was so busy with visitors from start to finish that I had no time to see them. Though I did find time to get a hot dog and a cake!

Some visitors held the cockroaches and the millipedes but, as usual, Sid the corn snake stole the show, with a constant stream of requests to have her round their neck. Sid was magnificent, putting up with everything with her usual patience and good humour. As always, I was very impressed with how polite and helpful the Scouts, Cubs and Beavers (boys and girls) were. No pushing and shoving, no shouting, happy to queue and wait their turn, and even those that did not like a critter just calmly avoided it. They were a tribute to the 1st Heybridge Scout Group and I look forward to taking up their invite to go again next year.

If you run, or visit, a show, please send a report for the Newsletter.

All photos had the permission of both the Group Scout Leader and the person being photographed and, as a matter of their policy, the children’s names are protected.

PSG Crossword Puzzle Answers

Here are the answers to the Crossword Puzzle on page 4. Please send in your puzzles, crosswords, quizzes, wordsearches, etc, for future Newsletters.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.21 PSG Winter Meeting & AGM, 18th Jan 2014 by Mike Smith

It was yet another great meeting; okay, I always say that, but honestly it really was. The weather was very mild too, though a tad wet in places. But one thing had definitely changed – the venue! Our usual room is being used by the museum this year so both our PSG meetings for 2014 use the "Flett Theatre and Atrium" area, by the Natural History Museum’s Exhibition Road entrance for Earth Sciences. Wow, what a venue it was, firstly there is an enormous atrium, big enough to swing an elephant in, and in the lecture area we must have had over 60 PSG members, yet we barely filled the first few rows. The slides for talks were shown on an enormous The Entrance to the Atrium. screen rivalling that of my local cinema. And the talks and livestock exchange were from the.. stage, much easier for the members to see everything. .We even had a back room where we could show the entries for the livestock competition, and Ed was in a control room somewhere managing the spot lights, dimmed lights, slides, etc. It was all state of the art compared ………… compared to our old room, and much appreciated by all. Again, Helen and Paul greeted the Reception in the Atrium. members as they arrived and handed out the new membership cards. These cards are also used on the day as name tags and, for chaps like me that have difficulty remembering names, this is very handy. Good also to see members wearing the freebie PSG badge that was handed out at our last Summer Meeting.

The meeting started around 11.30 with the AGM, and a few committee members gave a short spiel on their patch. The highlights are that all the committee were re-elected (mainly as no members volunteered to cover any posts), that membership numbers are healthy, our

Photo Paul Brock finances are in good order, and that the Newsletter will continue in its present form. (If you have any comments for.the committee about the PSG, or you are willing to help out in any capacity, please let a committee member know, contact details are on page 3). Next we had an Illustrated Talk by Paul Brock.on “Phasmids in Britain, particularly the Isles of Scilly”. It was amazing how many sticks Paul was able to find there, and I wondered if we shouldn’t have a PSG outing to visit there to see some of them. Mark gave a talk on Keeping Track of Cultures, Mark’s Talk. Paul’s Talk. and took a quick survey on what cultures members currently kept. Hopefully, this will help………… ensure. cultures of species are not lost forever. During the lunch break I had a quick look around the NH Museum, we were near different things this time which made a nice change Don’t ask me what I saw as I do not know – but I’ve put pictures of them below.

James was unavailable to give the talk he planned, so we went onto Ian’s talk. Ian continued with his theme of places he had visited seeking sticks (Borneo etc), the stories surrounding the trips, and stacks of excellent photos of sticks and other critters, with Ian explaining something interesting about each. As usual his talk had us all enthralled and it evoked many questions.

We.then had a special treat when Nick Wadham showed his amazing centipede Scolopendra gigantea. Big blighter it was, and potentially it had a nasty bite, but Ian’s Talk. fortunately it was in expert hands so no one Photo Paul Brock was in any danger. By popular demand, Nick brought the critter on stage,…… and. told us all sorts of fascinating facts about it; members were captivated. This centipede comes from a number of regions, including central southern America (as in this case), ………. June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.22 and Venezuela. A similar, closely related gigantea is found in Borneo, and Scolopendra galapagoensis is yet another variation – and a smashing thirteen inch specimen is on display in the bug hall in the green zone of the NH Museum. In the wild, they are fearsome predators, capable of taking down prey such as frogs, salamanders, tarantulas, and even relatively large snakes. Their venom is quite interesting and contains the following chemical and neurotoxic components: acetyl-choline; haemolytic phospho-lipase; seratonin; cytolysins; 5-hydroxytryptamine; histamine and a number of cardiotoxic proteins for good measure - this is why it's never a good idea to get bitten by them, though as with tarantula bites and bee stings, they are painful but not fatal. However, perhaps I’ll stick to keeping stick insects! Nick said to me: “Please quote me as saying a big thank you to the committee, and Judith in particular, for organising the meeting.“ We had a reasonable amount of entries for the livestock competition – many thanks to everyone that entered, it gave the members a chance to see some wonderful species. I brought in a pair of Eurycantha calcarata, beauties they were, given to me by my friend Karl a while back. But the Picture Natalie Ford winner was Ian Abercrombie, with a magnificent Eurycnema versirubra.

Finally, we had “everybody’s favourite”….the Livestock Exchange! There were some amazing critters available. .Members had taken heed of Mark’s request for members to cut down on the number of common species brought in, and virtually all species were distributed. Sadly, there were still a few species that had to be returned to suppliers - eg Derek TP mentioned in Sticktalk: “I came home (again) with some The Livestock Exchange table. of my Clonaria conformans and Baculum sp.; this is the second time I've taken these to PSG meets and come home with them again! Clonaria are lovely things, but no-one wanted them...” I’m sure it is nothing………… personal. Derek. Like me, many members have limited space and time, so have to be circumspect in what they take home.

So folks, if you want to try out the excellent but temporary venue, our Summer Meeting on Saturday 5th July will be your last chance. Sadly, I cannot make it this time, but I hope everybody there has a great time – please would members submit reports and photos on the meeting to the Newsletter as I will not be able to do so.

Contributions to the Newsletter. I am as always very much indebted to all the wonderful contributors to this Newsletter - many, many thanks to you all; without your sterling help there would be no Newsletter. I hope, as usual, that there is something here for everyone. Please, would all members send in a contribution, including any reviews on shows and meetings, drawings, photos, phasmid problems, answers to problems, crosswords, quizzes, puzzles, web site details, ideas or comments on the Newsletters or the PSG, etc, etc. Don’t worry if you can’t spell, have no pictures, or think your contribution is not scientific enough. Just send in whatever you like, this is YOUR Newsletter, and I’ll put in it everything you send in – and correct any spellings and add pictures (if needed). See the PSG Website for more details on how to write articles. E-mail them to: [email protected], or post them to Mike Smith, 13 Runnacles Street, Silver End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3QN, England, UK. The very latest date for contributions to the next PSG Newsletter in December is 22nd November 2014 (but contributions received before then will be particularly much- appreciated).

HOW TO JOIN THE PSG Please encourage anyone interested in phasmids to join the PSG.

Just give your name and address and payment. Payment can be: in cash to Paul Brock or a committee member at the Summer & Winter PSG Meetings in January, by PayPal; by cheque (in £ sterling and drawn on a UK bank) payable to: “The Phasmid Study Group”; or by Postal Order or International Postal Giro to:

Paul Brock, 2 Greenways Road, Brockenhurst, SO42 7RN, England, UK.

Or see the membership page on the PSG website: www.phasmid-study-group.org/Join-PSG

For overseas members not using PayPal: cash may be sent (at your own risk) in your own currency (add an extra £3.00 for exchange rate variations), we recommend using registered post.

Only £12 UK, £14 Europe, or £15 Overseas.

Any problems contact Paul Brock by E-mail: [email protected], or [email protected].

PSG Membership benefits include: PSG Meetings, copies of the PSG Newsletter, all areas of the PSG Website, and free stick insects. Ugly Eurycantha?

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.23 FEMALE OF AUSTRALIA’S ENIGMATIC GIANT PHASMID FINALLY CAPTURED by Geoff Monteith, Queensland Museum

The longest insect in Australia, and perhaps the Fig 1. Maik Fiedel with the first female longest in the world, has been known from just a captured of Ctenomorpha gargantua (Photo: Maik Fiedel). couple of photographs taken in the Cairns region of North Queensland by members of the public over recent years. Large Blue It’s a phasmid called appropriately, Ctenomorpha gargantua Hasenpusch & Brock, and it has been known, as specimens, until now, only from the much smaller males that come to light. It is quite extraordinary that such a giant insect as the female could have escaped collection from this well-populated and well- collected region over the last 150 years since settlement. Congratulations to Maik Fiedel, one of the insect keepers at the Museum of Victoria’s live insect display, who finally nabbed a specimen while head-lighting just before midnight along the Copperlode Dam Road behind Cairns on January 20 of this year (Fig 1). The specimen was taken hanging from the foliage of a low tree (Fig 2) and may have been blown down from the high canopy where the species probably normally lives and which would explain why they are so rarely encountered. The stick insect was 500mm long (including front legs), somewhat less than a 615mm monster photographed a few years ago at Kuranda. It did not live long but laid 14 eggs before expiring and these are being carefully nurtured at MV in hopes of getting the species into culture. The history of discovery of this spectacular creature is worth recording. The genus Ctenomorpha is confined to Australia and is recognisable by its extremely long cerci. It was long known from a single species, C. marginipennis Gray, found in coastal parts of Tasmania and SE Australia. However, a couple of specimens of males of Fig 2. The giant phasmid in the position where it was discovered obviously a second species, taken at light, were known in collections (Photo: Maik Fiedel). from tropical Queensland, far beyond the range of C. marginipennis. Then, in 1996, Geoff Monteith at the Queensland Museum, was sent two photographs of a large phasmid taken by Mr T.Fayne-Scott of… a.. specimen hanging on the outside of a caravan at the end of Whiteing Road on the high slopes of Mt Fisher at the southern end of the Atherton Tableland. In one photograph (Fig 3) a tape measure is held beside its body indicating an overall (cerci to tip of front legs) length of 525mm and a head/body length of almost 300mm.

The specimen was not retained. The photograph was then sent to British phasmid expert Paul Brock who identified it as being probably the female of the unplaced Ctenomorpha males from the same region. He included the photograph in his forthcoming book (Brock 1999) aimed at amateur breeding enthusiasts and pointed out that its length was on a par with the longest phasmids in the world (Asian species of ) which were then known to reach about 300 mm head/body.

Fig 4. David Rentz’s Paul and his Australian colleague, Jack neighbour. Hasenpusch, went on to formally describe the species in 2006 based on males from Kuranda, Mourilyan and Garradunga (Hasenpusch & Brock, 2006). Jack lives within the range of the species and many of the paratypes were males that came to light at his Garradunga property. In that paper Fig 3. First female they note that some larger species of photographed in Asian Phobaeticus, reaching 357mm 1996 at Mt Fisher (Photo: T. Fayne- female head/ body, had since been Scott). discovered and the London Natural History…… Museum’s book of definitive statistics of.large insects (Beccaloni, 2010) illustrates that record breaking female specimen of Phobaeticus chani from Sabah.

This seemed to take our big Ctenomorpha gargantua out of the running for a world-beater until an even larger female was photographed at Kuranda in 2009. The circumstances were remarkable. David Rentz, Australia’s leading orthopteran expert, lives in (semi)retirement in the rainforest near Kuranda. One of his neighbours found butcher birds attacking a very large insect in his garden. He measured it, photographed it June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org……………… Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.24 (see Fig 4), and then released the insect in a safe place away from the birds. It had the astonishing overall length of 615mm, 100 mm longer than the Mt Fisher specimen. Unaware that it was anything special, he later showed the photograph to David. Their following conversation, which probably included the exchange: “Where is the specimen now?/I dunno!” is perhaps best not recorded in its entirety. The photograph was passed to Jack and Paul and is included on p. 106 of their recent guide book to Australian phasmids (Brock & Hasenpusch 2009). Clearly that specimen may have had a head/body length more than the current Sabah record holder. Let’s hope those 14 eggs from Maik Fiedel’s female hatch, grow and prosper...there’s a lot of national pride at stake!

References BECCALONI, G. 2010. Big Bugs-Life Size. 84pp, The Natural History Museum, London. BROCK, P.D. 1999. The Amazing World of Stick and Leaf Insects. 165 pp. The Amateur Entomologists Society, Orpington, Kent, UK. BROCK, P.D. and HASENPUSCH, J. 2009. The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia 204 pp, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Vic. HASENPUSCH, J. and BROCK, P.D. 2006. Studies on the Australian stick insect genus Ctenomorpha Gray (Phasmida: : Phasmatinae), with the description of a new large species. Zootaxa 1282:1-15. Fig 4 provided by Paul Brock from his original publication of it in Brock & Hasenpusch (2009).

NB This article was originally published in the News Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Queensland 42(2):33-35. I am grateful to Paul Brock and Judith Marshall for drawing my attention to it, and I give particular thanks to Dr Geoff Monteith who kindly gave permission for me to reproduce it in our Newsletter.

What is National Insect Week? by Mike Smith

National Insect Week encourages people of all ages to learn more about insects. Every two years, the Royal Entomological Society organises the week, supported by a large number of partner organisations with interests in the science, natural history and conservation of insects.

Over one million species of insects have been described and named ………worldwide . There are.more than 24,000 species in the UK alone, and we can find insects in almost every habitat. They can be pollinators, predators, pests, parasites and prey, and their study is an important part of conservation, food production, medicine and ecology. Last year’s National Insect Week was hailed a huge success with thousands of people taking part in more than 300 events across the country.

HRH The Prince of Wales celebrated the 2012 National Insect Week (25 June to 1 July) with children from Wolsey Junior School, Croydon. There are lots of events planned for 2014. The National Insect Week website is designed to help you learn more about insects and other invertebrates from the people that study them. You’ll find everything you need to join in with the events and competitions during National Insect Week 2014. Go to: http://nationalinsectweek.co.uk/about/overview.htm.

For example, Bristol Zoo will be hosting The Bug Expedition! – an activity week where explorers can find out all sorts about creepy crawlies around the world! At Bristol Zoo Gardens Monday ……23rd.. – Sunday 29th June. . For more details go to http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/the-bug-expedition-at-bristol-zoo.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON DIARY DATES: You should check with the organisers that the event is still on, and at the times shown, before setting out (These are placed in the Newsletter in good faith, but no Diary responsibility is taken by the PSG for any errors). If you attend these or other shows, please send in a review for the Newsletter. If you are aware of any additional shows, exhibitions, fairs, etc, however big or small, wherever they Dates are, if stick insects and/or other creepy crawlies are likely to be present, please pass the details on to the Editor. E- mail them to: [email protected].

PSG Summer Meeting. Saturday 5th July 2014. 11.30am, Flett Theatre and Atrium area, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London. by the Earth Sciences entrance in Exhibition Road. (For more details, contact Judith Marshall see page 3 for contact details).

Midland Creepy Crawly Show, Sunday, September 14th. Brocks Hill Visitor Centre and Country Park, Washbrook Lane, Oadby, Leicester, LE2 5JJ. 10am to 4.30pm. “Last year we had over 1000 visitors which was amazing. This year we plan to double that”. Contact : Ian 07956 389205.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.25 IN THE NEWS: Sticks DO NOT “Stick” by Mike Smith Yes, the humble stick is in the international news again. Below are two samples of that story.

STICK INSECTS DO NOT STICK TO SURFACES, SAY SCIENTISTS. Scientists claim to have debunked the common misconception that stick insects actually stick to surfaces. The twig-like creatures are often seen climbing up walls or hanging upside down and now researchers claim to have evidence to how they truly do it. Experts say the camouflaged insects have two different types of pads on their legs and feet, some which are sticky and others covered in tiny hairs. Researchers from Cambridge University today said on soft surfaces the insects use their non-sticky pads that provide grip through friction. However, on hard surfaces such as rock or metal the creatures use their stick pads. PhD student David Labonte, who led the research, said: "Nature teaches us that good design means we can combine the properties of hard and soft materials, making elemental forces like friction go a very long way with just a small amount of pressure. "We investigate these insects to try and understand biological systems, but lessons from nature such as this might also be useful for inspiring new approaches in man-made devices. “Mr Labonte, whose research was published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, claimed running shoes could be improved by how stick insects function. He added: "Stickiness is the force that is needed to overcome when trying to detach one thing from another."If the soles of your feet were made of Scotch tape, it may be helpful when you are walking up walls or hanging upside down, but the rest of the time it would be incredibly frustrating. "Stick insects have developed an ingenious way of overcoming the conflict between attachment and locomotion, with a dual pad system that alternates between stick and grip depending on the situation.“ Ref: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/460666/Stick-insects-DO-NOT-actually-stick-to-surfaces-say-scientists

HOW STICK INSECTS HONED FRICTION TO GRIP WITHOUT STICKING. Scientists have discovered that, when upright, stick insects don’t stick. Instead, they deploy special hairy pads designed to create huge amounts of friction from the tiniest of pressure increases - ensuring that the insects grip but don’t stick. When they’re not hanging upside down, stick insects don’t need to stick. In fact, when moving upright, sticking would be a hindrance: so much extra effort required to ‘un-stick’ again with every step. Latest research from Cambridge’s Department of Zoology shows that stick insects have specialised pads on their legs designed to produce large amounts of friction with very little pressure. When upright, stick insects aren’t sticking at all, but harnessing powerful friction to ensure they grip firmly without the need to unglue themselves from the ground when they move. In a previous study last year, the team discovered that stick insects have two distinct types of ‘attachment footpads’ - the adhesive ‘toe pads’ at the end of the legs, which are sticky, and the ‘heel pads’, which are not sticky at all. The insect uses different pads depending on direction and terrain. By studying the ‘heel pads’ in more detail, researchers discovered the insects have developed a way to generate massive friction when walking upright. They do this through a system of tiny hairs that use combinations of height and curvature to create a ‘hierarchy’ of grip, with the slightest pressure generating very strong friction - allowing stick insects to grip but not stick. The researchers say the study reveals yet another example of natural engineering successfully combining “desirable but seemingly contradictory properties of man- made materials” - namely, the best of both hard and soft materials - simply through clever structural design. “Just by arrangement and morphology, nature teaches us that good design means we can combine the properties of hard and soft materials, making elemental forces like friction go a very long way with just a small amount of pressure,” said David Labonte, lead researcher from the Department of Zoology.

The power of friction relies on ‘contact area’, the amount of close contact between surfaces. In rigid materials, such as steel, even the tiniest amount of surface roughness means there is actually relatively little ‘contact area’ when pressed against other surfaces - so any amount of friction is very small. On the other hand, soft materials achieve a lot of contact with surfaces, but - due to the larger amount of contact area - there is also a certain amount of adhesion or ‘stick’ not there with hard materials. To solve this, stick insect’s hairy friction pads employ three main tricks to allow contact area to increase quickly under pressure, creating a scale or ‘hierarchy’ of grip with absolutely no stick: 1/ Both the pad itself and the tips of the hairs are rounded. This means that, when pressure is applied, more contact area is generated - like pushing down on a rubber ball. 2/ Some hairs are shorter than others, so the more pressure, the more hairs come into contact with the surface. 3/ When even more pressure is applied, some of the hairs bend over and make side contact - greatly increasing contact area with very little extra force. These design features work in harmony to generate large amounts of friction with comparatively tiny amounts of pressure from the insect. Importantly, there is hardly any contact area without some tiny amount of pressure – which means that the specialised ‘frictional hairs’ don't stick. Arrays of tiny hairs have been found before, for example on the feet of geckos, beetles and flies. However, these hairs are designed to stick, and are used when creatures are vertical or hanging upside down. Sticky hairs are completely aligned and have flat tips - meaning that they immediately make full contact that hardly changes with additional weight - as opposed to friction hairs, with their higgledy-piggledy height ranges and rounded tips.

“We investigate these insects to try and understand biological systems, but lessons from nature such as this might also be useful for inspiring new approaches in man-made devices,” said Labonte. He uses the example of a running shoe as a possible man-made item that could be enhanced by stick insect engineering: “If you run, you don’t want your feet to stick to the ground, but you also want to make sure you don’t slip.” Adds Labonte: “Stickiness is the force that is needed to overcome when trying to detach one thing from another. If the soles of your feet were made of Scotch tape, it may be helpful when you are walking up walls or hanging upside down, but the rest of the time it would be incredibly frustrating. Stick insects have developed an ingenious way of overcoming the conflict between attachment and locomotion, with a dual pad system that alternates between stick and grip depending on the situation.” (A scanning electron microscopy image of conical, micrometre-sized outgrowths that cover the tarsal ‘heel pads’ of some stick insects appears on page 3.) Ref: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/how-stick-insects-honed-friction-to-grip-without-sticking.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.26 Penang Butterfly Farm by Mike Smith In December 2013, I was in holiday in Malaysia, one week on Langkawi Island, and one week on Penang Island. Long journey to get there, but great once there. Paul Brock told me where to look for stick insects in Langkawi – well I did look, but did not find any. I found some in Penang though – strangely enough, in The Penang Butterfly Farm. If you ever go to Penang, you really must go there. It is very reasonably priced, and though they do indeed farm butterflies, it does so much more as well. It had stick insects (alive and dead specimens), giant Their sign millipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, lizards, snakes, beetles, etc. A museum showing the was life-cycles of butterflies and other critters. In their shop they had dead specimens of all sorts of very creepy-crawly critters for sale, together with every possible piece of butterfly (real and artificial) pretty. merchandise you could think of. I show below some of the photos I took.

Their pamphlet, front & back, gives an idea of what they have on offer.

I believe this became the butterfly below.

We took the opportunity of having a free guide They had some magnificent to show us round. When we came to the Jungle phasmid specimens for sale. Nymphs, it was obvious he expected us to be amazed by them – but he looked a bit crest- fallen when my wife said “Oh, we have one of those at home”. (Apologies for picture quality – it was taken through glass).

Not cheap, but also not “CITES” so no Export Permit needed in order to You can watch take them home. butterflies hatching.

Eggs, instars, pupae and butterfly. Parthenos sylvia.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.27 Photos of Phasmids taken by Paul Brock These photos of PSG species were so good I had to share them with you, in full colour, in the Newsletter. Many thanks Paul for sending them to me. Some have yet to have PSG numbers allocated, and they were on display by Allan Harman at the Winter PSG Meeting, also many were available on the Livestock Exchange table. It is good to have photos like these from time to time as many members do not know what some species look like. I have put some other photos on The Colour Page, Page 2, and of course one on the front cover.

Carribiopheromera trinitatis female. PSG 354. Dimorphodes female.

Dimorphodes male.

Carribiopheromera trinitatis male.

Dares philippinensis male. PSG 331. Dimorphodes male, head & thorax

Dares philippinensis female.

Haaniella scabra group. PSG 70.

June 2014 Website: www.phasmid-study-group.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhasmidStudyGroup Newsletter 132.28