288 prof. h. maxwell lefroy : 



Phasmid^e. 



Stick Insects. 



Garausias morosus lias been in the house continuously, and 

 now occupies a whole bay. All are females, and no male has 

 been seen. Part of the stock was reared in the open in July- 

 August, and they do well under such conditions. 



In the cages the green and brown insects place themselves 

 irrespective of the colour of their background ; in the open on 

 large bushes the green insects invariably sit among the foliage 

 or on the green shoots, the browns choosing the stem, low down 

 near the ground. There are, as a rule, many more greens than 

 browns, just as there is on a plant a much larger proportion of 

 green area than brown. 



Carausias will eat a variety of plants — roses, beans, privet, 

 euonymus, lilac, ivy, hawthorn, rubber fig, Coleus, Spircea, 

 and Arcdia being some of those on which they have thriven. 



Owing to the shortage of mealworms, these stick insects have 

 been used for feeding some birds and small mammals : the 

 Curator of Birds is anxious to breed them on a large scale for 

 his birds, the Curator of Keptiles wants them for his lizards, 

 and the Superintendent covets them for some of the more 

 delicate mammals. They are very prolific, laying some hundreds 

 of eggs ; but the life-history is long and they remain several 

 months in the egg stage. Whether it will be feasible to breed 

 them on a large scale remains to be seen ; there is no difficulty, 

 but they require fresh food and a certain amount of attention. 



We may contrast the prospects of breeding mealworms and 

 stick insects as follows : — 



Mealworm: — Egg 16-21 days. 



Larva 5-6 months. 

 Pupa 14 days. 



■Beetle lives 2-3 months, begins to lay in 10 days, 

 and lays 50-100 eggs — say 60. 

 In 5 years a stock of 100 might have increased by 6 broods to 

 600 million individuals, assuming half of each lot were used as 

 food when larvae (i. e. 27 million) and half were females. 



Every mealworm used as food has not bred, so there is a loss, 

 and it requires two beetles, a male and a female, to produce 100 

 eggs ; these two can only be used for feeding as beetles. 

 "The mealworms require little attention — a very little meal as 

 food, a few dead mice, sparrows, and other small game as luxuries, 

 and quite simple boxes as cages. 



Stick Insect : — Egg takes 2-3 months. 

 Nymph takes 5 months. 



Adult takes 9 months, begins to lay in a few 

 weeks, and lays 300-500 eggs. 



In 5 years from 100 one might have 5 broods, the last amounting 

 to about 10 billion, all of which could be used for food and none 



