Peruvian Fern Stick Insect vs Conle's Stick Insect

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Peruvian Fern Stick Insect Conle's Stick Insect
Scientific Name Oreophoetes peruana Conlephasma enigma
Order Phasmatodea Phasmatodea
Family Diapheromeridae Pseudophasmatidae
Size 45-65 mm 4-6 cm
Habitat Mountains Mountains
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions South America Philippines (Mindoro)
Conservation Least Concern Data Deficient

Peruvian Fern Stick Insect

A striking stick insect with a black body and contrasting red or orange wings. Males are more brightly colored than females and both sexes spray a defensive chemical.

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Did You Know?

When threatened, this stick insect sprays a milky defensive secretion from glands behind its head that contains quinoline compounds and smells like toffee.

Conle's Stick Insect

A rare and enigmatic stick insect from the Philippines, unusual for a typically neotropical family. Its discovery was taxonomically surprising.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the only Pseudophasmatidae species found in Asia, far from the family's American center of diversity.