Sunday 31 July 2016

Insect Mini-Series - STICK INSECT

You might ask what he was doing climbing a car. 
Like all adventurous mountaineers before him, he might answer, ‘Because it was there.’

Stick Insect, Fiji


After all, with compound eyes which allowed him to see well during his largely nocturnal activities, he couldn’t use the excuse that he had mistaken the car for a tree... or could he?

Because, while out foraging, this dedicated herbivore had indeed climbed up a car and was now perched somewhat precariously on the wing mirror. Only he knew why he came to be there, a stick insect enigma, surveying his world from his unusual vantage point.  

Aware of his vulnerability, he rocked gently, mimicking a twig moving in the breeze. 

In the normal course of events this behaviour might fool predators, but stuck out on the wing mirror in broad daylight meant he was stretching his luck. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the sort of stick insect who could, chameleon-like, change colour to blend in with his surroundings.

If a predator did approach, he could drop to the ground and play dead, thus fooling the enemy into thinking he was nothing more than an indigestible twig. And if that didn’t work, he could unleash his pièce de résistance and vomit up the contents of his stomach. That should do the trick.


Do let me know if you're enjoying this insect mini-series.

See you next week.







20 comments:

  1. Great stuff! He sounds an intrepid chap.

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  2. Foolish creature more like, climbing up on my car like that! :)

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  3. The trick of the stick. :-) Hopefully, if he decides to jump off, he won't get run over. Funny animal and funny territory!

    Liesbet @ Roaming About

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  4. Hi Liesbet, thanks for visiting. I removed him from the car soon after I took the photo and put him safely away in the undergrowth. :)

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  5. :-) I'm glad to read that you love animals as much as I do!

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  6. I certainly do, Liesbet - my theme for the April A-Z Challenge was animals I've encountered in the wild. :)

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  7. I'm not a huge insect fan, Susan, but this guy is very cute. Reminds me a little of myself. :)

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  8. Ha ha! So is that because you like to hang around on cars, Jo?

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  9. Oh My - I love the little face that you can see on him in the first picture :D I wonder what he thought that he had gotten himself into on your car!

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  10. That's what I thought too, Tracy! :)

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  11. Thanks for the morning chuckle Susan. It seems this fellow took a wrong turn or perhaps a true adventurous spirit. :)

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    1. Glad it made you smile, Sue. This was the second time I found a stick insect on my car in Fiji, so clearly there was something going on to attract them. :)

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  12. Yep, in terms of camouflage, he's definitely out of his element!

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  13. Maybe (s)he wanted to get a selfie and needed to groom in the mirror! ;-)

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  14. This insect is actually pretty cool even if he's gross.

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    1. Oh Birgit, do you really think he's gross? I think he's rather gorgeous. :)

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