Bacillus rossius
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Bacillus rossius | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Phasmatodea |
Family: | Bacillidae |
Genus: | Bacillus |
Species: | B. rossius
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Binomial name | |
Bacillus rossius (Rossi, 1790)
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Subspecies[1] | |
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Synonyms[1] | |
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The European stick insect (Bacillus rossius) also called the European stick bug or the European walking stick and the Mediterranean stick insect is a species of stick insect, common in Europe. The species is endemic to the northwestern Mediterranean, especially Spain, Southern France, Italy and the Balkans.[2][3]
Overview[]
Adults have a slim body, with small antennae and long and thin legs. Colors vary from light green to brown, and female exemplars are greater than male. This species can eat bramble leaves, ivy, and privet. B. rossius can be found from June to mid December and the eggs look like seeds. To tell the difference between a male and female is that females are larger and the males are smaller. Also is that the female has a larger abdomen. An adult can be 10 cm (4 inches) in length.
Life cycle[]
The nymphs hatch out from their seed-like eggs 8 weeks to 2 months after being laid by a female. like the adult, the nymphs sway as in a breeze to avoid predators. B. rossius lives up to a year. The females do not have wings but the male does. They are nocturnal and may stay still for hours and usually feed at night. They shed the exoskeleton a few times in their life.
Predators[]
The predators include frogs, birds, bats, salamanders, spiders, rodents, reptiles and ants.
Gallery[]
Many young stick insects on leaves (video)
A brown form
B. rossius on a twig
A green form
Video of a European stick insect (B. rossius)
Eating a leaf of Rubus ulmifolius (mouthparts also visible)
Adult and nymph
Female stick insect
Female (head's detail)
A stick bug
See also[]
- Bacillus atticus atticus, the endemic Bacillus of Greece
References[]
- ^ a b "Bacillus rossius". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ Oliver Zompro: Grundwissen Pasmiden – Biologie - Haltung - Zucht. Sungaya Verlag, Berlin 2012, S. 73, ISBN 978-3-943592-00-9
- ^ "Bacillus rossius at bugsincyberspace.com". Archived from the original on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
External links[]
Media related to Bacillus rossius at Wikimedia Commons
- Phasmatodea
- Phasmatodea of Europe
- Insects described in 1788
- Taxa named by Pietro Rossi