Hairy-saddled Colletes vs African Twig Stick Insect

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Hairy-saddled Colletes African Twig Stick Insect
Scientific Name Colletes succinctus Clonopsis maroccana
Order Hymenoptera Phasmatodea
Family Colletidae Bacillidae
Size 10-13 mm 50-70 mm
Habitat Heathland Heathland
Diet Nectar Feeders Herbivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia West Africa (Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone)
Conservation Near Threatened Least Concern

Hairy-saddled Colletes

A late-summer plasterer bee that is a specialist on heather, secreting a cellophane-like lining in its underground nest cells. It is an important heathland indicator species.

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Did You Know?

The cellophane-like substance it secretes to waterproof its nest cells is a unique biopolymer not found in any other group of animals.

African Twig Stick Insect

A slender stick insect that mimics dry twigs with remarkable accuracy. It reproduces parthenogenetically, with females producing viable eggs without mating. Active at night when it feeds on foliage.

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Did You Know?

This species reproduces entirely without males in most populations, with females cloning themselves through parthenogenesis.