The Bizarre Looking Insect That Can Regrow Severed Limbs
The Bizarre Looking Insect That Can Regrow Severed Limbs
People who find insects boring may not understand that many insects possess unique adaptations that do not seem possible in nature. Not only are some insects notable for their strange appearances, but some insects can manipulate nature by breeding asexually. These female insects have adapted to perpetuate their species without the help of males. Amazingly these female insects are capable of producing offspring without making use of male chromosomes. There are also several insects that are capable of seemingly fictional abilities. For example, some insects are capable of regrowing severed limbs. What human would not wish to possess such a remarkable ability? Some insects arouse so much fascination that people insist on keeping some of the more interesting insects as pets. Many Americans show this same fascination with fireflies. Fireflies are normally captured and kept as pets due to their incredible glowing abilities. Children in particular are apt to marvel at the sight of numerous fireflies glowing at dusk. And finally, some insects are so unique that they literally possess all of the above mentioned features. For instance, an insect known as the Vietnamese walking stick can reproduce asexually, grow new limbs, and they are often kept as pets. These stick insects are also eye-catching on account of their twig-like appearance.
Vietnamese walking sticks (VWS) have only one way of avoiding death in the wild. As you can likely guess, these insects are perfectly adapted to blend in with their forest surroundings. When a predator approaches a VWS insect, the insect remains perfectly still in order to appear as a harmless twig. Even if a VWS insect did become injured during a bout with a predator, the stick insect would simply regenerate lost body parts. VWS females have been reproducing asexually for such a long time that experts are not sure if the males still exist in the wild. These stick insects also make such good pets, that information on how to breed and properly care for these insects can be found on pet websites. VWS insects can grow up to twenty centimeters in length. And over two thousand different walking stick species have been discovered in the wild.
Have you ever seen a walking stick insect? If you have, did you initially think that the insect you were looking at was a twig?