Photo credit: The Daily Mail
At first glance, this look like a tree branch, but upon closer inspection, you’ll see that it’s actually a gigantic stick insect, the second largest ever discovered in fact. Meausring 54cm with its legs spread, this Phryganistria heusii yentuensis was found in the Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve, 150km northeast of the Vietnam capital Hanoi. They captured the insect by simply beating trees with a pole until the it fell to the ground. Continue reading for more pictures and information.
“Southeast Asia is believed to have the greatest diversity of stick insects on the planet.They are herbivores that feed on leaves, but are subject to predation themselves which they combat using a number of different defense mechanisms. These include changing colors to suit their background like that of a chameleon, mimicking a branch in the wind by slowly swaying back and forth, or simply playing dead,” says The Daily Mail.
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