Hi,

I am new in the PSG and I want to ask anybody abaut the different colours in the specie Bacillus rossius. I am Spanish and I live in the north of Spain (in Santoña) where there is a big B. rossius population. I saw that animals have diffrent colour groups. Every population has has only one colour from light green to dark brown ( with pink, light brown, green and brown,..,) I want to know why every population has only one colour and why there are so much colour variation between population that eats the same foodplants (Rubus sp, Crataegus monogyna and Fragaria vesca) and that have the same ambiental factors. I have got photos from the different colours and I have a mixed culture that gives animals where brown is dominant vs green but I have every pure culture too.

Regards and thank you very much

www.phasmiduniverse.com
murex_6@hotmail.com

This is my pet-stick, named Muk. The problem is, I have no idea what kind of stick it is, simply because I got it as a present from a friend.
I will be very thankfull for any kind of help.

Extatosoma tiaratum - Spiny leaf insect
species: Extatosoma
genus: tiaratum
species in genus: 1 Extatosoma tiaratum (Macleay, 1826) (Australia)
2 Extatosoma tiaratum tiaratum (Macleay, 1826) (imitates leaves)
3 Extatosoma tiaratum bufonium Westwood, 1874 (imitates lichen
4 Extatosoma popa popa Stål, 1875 (imitates leaves)
5 Extatosoma popa carlbergi Beccaloni, 1993 (imitates lichen)
Identification
Large when fully adult, can be found in a range of colours consisting mainly of green and different shades of yellow, females are bracypterous with not even wings that cover half the abdomen but only look like wing buds that are close to the meta thorax.
Females are spiny over abdomen with legs that are wide leafy shaped legs, similar to the phyllidae species found in malayisa, the females being parthenogenic can lay from 300 to nearly 1000 eggs in the insects life time and the eggs have been recorded hatching 2 years after the female layed them.
Males are slender with fully functional wings, nymphal males curl their tail but when adult the wings prevent this scorpion mimic from happening, males are not spiny at all and have thiner leggs with the same leafy shape as the female.
Plant food sources
E. tiaratum eats a variaty but the main one described for this species eats Eucalyptus wich maintains this yellow colour. Individuals shipped over seas has developed and has been able to switch food sources because Eucalyptus is only present on the country of Australia.
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extatosoma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extatosoma_tiaratum

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