Spanish stick insect
| Spanish stick insect | ||||||||||||
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Pijnackeria hispanica , female nymph |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pijnackeria hispanica | ||||||||||||
| ( Bolivar , 1878) |
The Spanish stick insect ( Pijnackeria hispanica , Syn . : Leptynia hispanica ) is a species of stick insects from the family Diapheromeridae .
features
Among the Western European species, the Spanish stick insect is the smallest with a maximum of 50 mm. The animals are built very narrow. The eleven-link antennae are short, have segments of different lengths and are reddish in color, i.e. clearly different in color from the body. The dorsal end segment of the abdomen of the adult females is pointed and the sides of the body have clear white stripes, which are much narrower in the Gallic Mediterranean rod.
distribution
In contrast to the Gaulish Mediterranean stick insect ( Clonopsis gallica ), which also lives in western France up to Normandy , the Spanish stick insect occurs in France only in the south (like the Mediterranean stick insect ). The species has been detected vertically in Spain up to an altitude of 1800 meters.
Habitat, Diet and Behavior
Like the other species in the region, the Spanish stick insect is found preferentially in open, unshaded terrain. The population density fluctuates extraordinarily and depends on small climatic conditions and the distribution of the nutrient plants. The animals in France mainly feed on the cheek clover Dorycnium pentaphyllum ( Scopoli , 1763) from the legume family (Fabaceae), which is widespread in Europe and Central Asia. However, the animals can occasionally be found on the dog rose ( Rosa canina L. , 1753), on the prickly thorn gorse Calycotome spinosa (L.) or the ash gray gorse Genista cinerea ( Vill. ). Thanks to their appearance and the lack of movement during the day, the stick insects can hardly be seen. Your actual activity phase is limited to the night.
Similar species
Until the establishment of the genus Pijnackeria by Scali in 2009, the species was assigned to the genus Leptynia . Three of the four species of this genus occurring in Europe, namely Leptynia attenuata Pantel , 1890, Leptynia caprai Scali , 1996 and Leptynia montana Scali , 1996, are only known from the Iberian Peninsula . In France, the Gallic Mediterranean stick insect and the Mediterranean stick insect ( Bacillus rossius ) are still common. Both belong to the Bacillidae family and do not have the distinctive white stripes of the Spanish stick insect.
Development and enemies
Of all three known species, only females are known from France. The first nymph stages usually hatch in April. Adult animals can then be found from late June to late September and live an average of two months. The eggs are usually laid in the ground. A female lays up to 60 eggs in small packages over a period of several weeks. Despite their good camouflage, the animals have numerous enemies, especially a caterpillar fly (Tachinidae) Thrixion halidayanum ( Rondani , 1872), which already placed its eggs on the nymphs, from which the larvae that parasitize the host hatch. The last larval stage of the fly then leaves the stick insect and pupates.
The species is listed by the Phasmid Study Group under PSG number 123.
credentials
- ^ Paul D. Brock: Phasmida Species File Online . Version 5.0 / 5.0 (accessed November 18, 2018)
- ↑ Phasmatodea in Fauna Europaea , as of March 19, 2015.
- ↑ www.phasmid-study-group.org - Phasmid Study Group List
