Medauroidea extradentata
Annam walking stick ( Medauroidea extradentata )
The Annam walking stick ( Medauroidea extradentata, formerly Baculum extradentatum ), also known as Vietnamese stick insect is a Stick Insect from the family of Phasmatidae.
Features
The females are a maximum of 110 millimeters long and have visible antennae shorter than the males. About the eyes they carry two small "horns", rear facing spinous processes, which emerge already in the nymphal stage. The males reach a body length of up to 75 millimeters. They are not only much smaller, but also much slimmer than the females. Annam stick insects have no wings. The basic color is gray-brown to beige, rarely dark brown or green.
Occurrence and life
The German name Annam walking stick refers to the area of origin, the Annam region in Vietnam. The animals are nocturnal and only begin in the dark with the food intake during the day any unnecessary movement is avoided. A movement not caused by fault occurs with a slightly towards the sides swaying gait, with the rocking of a branch is imitated in the wind. If a fault occurs, the animals, especially the males, but also run relatively quickly.
Reproduction
Are males present, they are rarer than the females, the animals mate frequently. Otherwise, the propagation can be done by parthenogenesis without the pairing with the male. The tönnchenförmigen eggs are 2.5 x 1.5 millimeters in size, gray with brown spots and wear on the operculum ( Eideckel ) a black capitulum. The development of the animals in the eggs is temperature dependent. It takes an average of about three to four months. At 25 to 27 ° C it takes significantly less than two months, below room temperature, it could take up to six months. The nymphs are about 15 millimeters long at hatching. You will need about three to four months until they are fully grown. About two weeks after the last moult the females begin to lay eggs. Per day they let one to five eggs fall to the ground while her life she lay up to 1000 eggs. In breeding they reach an age of up to one year.
Naming and systematics
Karl Brunner von Wattenwyl described the way in 1907 in his work " The insect family of phasmids. II Phasmidae Anareolatae ( Clitumnini, Lonchodini, Bacunculini ) "as Clitumnus extradentatus. In the same work he also described Cuniculina annamensis, which was later recognized as a synonym for Annam walking stick. The genus Baculum in which the species was done long, has been revised in 2000 completely and only contains five species. It united before many species that are summarized today under various genres. To make the habit of the animals and the Eimorphologie in Annam walking stick ( Medauroidea extradentata ) clear that this is a close relative of the genus Medaura. Other representatives of the formerly belonged to the genus Baculum example, were grouped under Ramulus. For the Annam stick insect thus yield the following synonyms:
- Syn = Clitumnus extradentatus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907
- Syn = Cuniculina annamensis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907
- Syn = Baculum extradentatum ( Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1907)
Relationship to man
Terrarium and model organism
The Annam stick insect was first introduced in 1949 to Europe and was mainly due to their easy posture to a popular terrarium as well as a model organism in biological research, including molecular biology research. The species is out of the Phasmid Study Group under both the PSG number 5 and under number 24.
It is easy to hold and can be fed with the foliage of raspberries, white spines, thorns fire, oak, hazel, roses, strawberries, blackberries or currants. For breeding sufficient room temperature to give the animals reproduce in captivity mainly parthenogenetic. The enclosure should have a size of approximately 40 x 40 x 60 cm (length x width x height). If floors are covered with damp sand or earth terrarium, the eggs can be left there until hatching, one uses light sand or small stones are to see the eggs well there. Since the nature of water needed and it can not how many stick insects relate purely from food, you should feed the plants sprayed every evening once well with water, which also increases the humidity.
Threats and conservation
About the threat to the species in its natural habitat are no data in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN), the species is not performed.
Pictures
Portrait of a female
Female
Female