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Phyllium arthurchungi
Leaf insects are camouflaged (using mimicry) to take on the appearance of leaves. They do this so accurately that predators often are not able to distinguish them from real leaves. In some species the edge of the leaf insect's body even has the appearance of bite marks. To further confuse predators, when the leaf insect walks, it rocks back and forth, to mimic a real leaf being blown by the wind.
Sepilok, Sabah.
Hi Alessandro, I saw the specimen in the wild, in Sepilok, Borneo. No idea if they can be found for breeding, I guess they are too rare. Albert told me it was a new species..
Hi everyone, I am an amateur breeder of phasmids and in particular I raise phyllium. I live in Italy and I am very interested in new or rare species. I usually buy or exchange eggs around the world. I really like this species. If there is someone who breeds this species or rarely can I contact me by email? thank you
My mail is: a.pippa@alice.it
My facebook profile is: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=...
Hi Marta, based on the recently published book - A Taxanomic guide to Stick Insects of Borneo by Dr Francis Seow-Choen, this species was newly described, Phyllium arthurchungi, named after Arthur Chung, the Senior Entomologist at Forest Research Center in Sepilok, Sandakan
Thanks again. It s nice to know that the species is yet undefined. Thanks Albert and Daniele for this information :-)
Awesome find Marta,striking,congrats on the fun fact and thanks for sharing
You're welcome Marta. It's breaking recent records of popularity on our FB page with 1709 likes and 430 shares as I write :-) Also most interesting that the species is yet to be described!
Congratulations Marta, your spotting is featured as our Fact of the Day! "Leaf insects (family Phylliidae) display a remarkable form of mimicry, where their wings and legs closely resemble the color and shape of leaves, including vein patterns. Some species also show markings mimicking spots of disease or damage such as holes or bite marks. Leaf insects can even move in a way that mimics a real leaf being blown by the wind, further confusing predators. Leaf insects are found from South Asia through Southeast Asia to Australia. They are related to the stick insects in the family Phasmatidae; both belong to the order Phasmatodea.
http://www.britannica.com/animal/leaf-in...
Leaf insect (Phyllium sp.) spotted in Sabah, Malaysia, by Project Noah user Marta RubioTexeira"
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...
Cool find, Marta.
This is an undescribed species of Leaf Insect under the genus of Phyllium.
Description of this species is presently undertaken, probably will be published next year.
Thanks for the nice comments. We were very lucky to see it as we saw only one of these in the whole trip. It was in Sepilok, inside the sanctuary for orangutans. There is a boardwalk there and if you pay attention to the forest on the sides there is a lot of interesting critters to see. :-)
What an amazing insect. I have always wanted to see one of these but they don't hang out in California.
Spotted on Sep 22, 2015
Submitted on Nov 21, 2015
