Acanthoxyla prasina

Acanthoxyla prasina, the prickly stick insect, is a stick insect in the order Phasmatodea and the family Phasmatidae.[1] It is found throughout New Zealand, although it is less frequently reported than "common" stick insect species. It has been introduced to Britain, predominately Cornwall and Devon, and to the south-west region of the Republic of Ireland.[2][3] It has a thorny skin, which is used as camouflage.[4]

Prickly stick insect
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Phasmatidae
Genus: Acanthoxyla
Species:
A. prasina
Binomial name
Acanthoxyla prasina
(Westwood, 1859)
Synonyms
  • Acanthoderus prasinus Westwood, 1859
  • Acanthoxyla speciosa Salmon, 1955

The species reproduces by parthenogenesis, producing eggs without the help of a male, and the population is entirely female. No male had ever been seen until 2016 when one was discovered in the introduced population in Cornwall.[5] He was likely the result of a rare mutation and is now part of the collection at the Natural History Museum in London.[6]

Acanthoxyla prasina egg illustration by Des Helmore

See also

References
  1. "Acanthoxyla prasina (Westwood, 1859)". phasmida.speciesfile.org. 2021. Archived from the original on 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  2. "Acanthoxyla prasina (National Biodiversity Network Atlas)". nbnatlas.org. 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Lee, Malcolm (1998). "An updated survey of the distribution of the stick insects of Britain" (PDF). Phasmid studies. 7 (1): 18–25. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  4. "Insect poses prickly questions" on Otago Daily Times website, viewed 2013-10-16
  5. Brock, Paul D; Lee, Malcolm; Morgan-Richards, Mary; Trewick, Steven A (2017). "Missing stickman found: the first male of the parthenogenetic New Zealand phasmid genusacanthoxyla uvarov, 1944, discovered in the united kingdom". Acropos (60): 16–23. ISSN 1478-8128. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  6. ainge Roy, Eleanor (2018-02-06). "New Zealand female-only stick insect produces 'rogue' male in UK". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
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