CHAPTEE XI 



OKTHOPTEKA CONTINUED PHASMIDAE WALKING-LEAVES 



STICK-INSECTS 



Fam. V. Phasmidae Stick and Leaf Insects. 



Head exserted ; "prothorax small, not elongate ; mesothorax "very 

 elongate ; the six legs differing but little from one another, 

 the front pair not raptorial, the hind pair not saltatorial. 

 The cerci of the abdomen not jointed, consisting of only one 

 piece ; the tarsi five-jointed. Tegmina usually small, or 

 entirely absent, even when the wings are present and ample. 

 The sexes frequently very dissimilar. Absence of alar 

 organs frequent. 



These Insects are amongst the most curious of natural objects. 

 They are frequently of large size, some attaining 9 inches 

 in length (Fig. 162, Palophus centaurus, one-half natural length). 

 Their variety of form could scarcely be surpassed ; their re- 

 semblance to products of the vegetable kingdom is frequently 

 very great: some of the more linear species (Fig. 148, Lonchodes 

 nematodes) look like sticks or stems of grass ; some have a moss- 

 like appearance, while others resemble pieces of lichen-covered 

 bark. The members of the tribe Phylliides are leaf-like. A 

 certain number of other Phasmids are covered with strong 

 spines, like thorns (Fig. 149). The plant-like appearance is 

 greatest in the female sex. When there is a difference between 

 the two sexes as to the organs of flight, these are more fully 

 developed in the male. 



The antennae are usually many-jointed, but the number of 

 joints varies fi-om 8 to more than 100; the head is exserted ; 

 the eyes are more ox less prominent ; ocelli are present in some 



