New Stick Insect Species Discovered in China
Posted on June 2, 2014
A new species of stick insect has been discovered in China. The new species was discovered by Ho Wai-chun George from the Hong Kong Entomological Society during a field trip in the thick evergreen forests of Damingshan, which is located in Guangxi, China. The new stick insect species, Sinophasma damingshanensis, has an elongated greenish brown body that resembles a plant stem.
Ho Wai-chun George says in a statement, "In order to find this new species, I had to use torch to spot it on leaves of trees at night because almost all stick- and leaf insects are nocturnal insects. If you know the insects' food plant, you can find the corresponding species. Sinophasma damingshanensis favours to eat the leaves of Fagaceae and this is the tactic we used to find it in the wild. Hence, if you are a Phasmatologist you may have to not only study the taxonomy of the stick- and leaf insects, but also the taxonomy of the plants."
A research paper about the new stick insect was published here in the journal, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift.