Profile: Giant Prickly Stick Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum)

The Giant Prickly Stick Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum) is also known as Macleay’s Spectre Stick, Spiny Leaf Insect or Macleays Phasmid. This species is one among the over 2,500 stick insects whose behavior resembles that of leaves and twigs, thus the name. Giant prickly insect is native to Australia and New Guinea regions.

The insect, which features a large body, can make a very nice addition to your collection. Be advised though that although the insect does not sting and are known to be generally harmless, they should be handled with great care as they are fairly prickly.

Profile: Praying Mantid (Sphodromantis spec.)

The praying mantids are associated with diverse religious and pharmacological beliefs. Mantis means fortune teller of prophet in Greek. In China, the mantis are believed to cure anything from impotence to goiter. It is also believed that giving your children the mantis’ roasted egg cases helps the children stop bed wetting, but you must eat the egg cases after taking some food or else you risk becoming sick. These assumptions are interesting but no research has been carried out to ascertain whether these ancient claims are true.