The Walking Leaf

Imagine - you are sitting in your garden, working on your latest gardening project, when, suddenly, a leaf walks leisurely by. At this point, you may wonder whether you've spent too many consecutive hours in your garden...but relax, you have not gone bananas. Well, the scenario may not happen in quite this way, but we've all likely seen the mysterious 'walking leaf' bug at one time or another. The walking leaf insect, also known as Phasmida, from the Phylliidae family, can sometimes be found in our very own gardens. It would actually be a rare instance to see these insects in motion, since they are experts at camouflaging themselves, and they only feed at night. The natural question, at this point, is whether or not you as a gardener should fear these little creatures. Unlike other plant eaters, the leaf bug is rarely considered to be a plague, even by farmers. Occasionally, they can be considered pests to the eucalyptus trees, where they can reproduce in great numbers and cause a major problem - a female can lay thousands of eggs within her lifetime, which is only up to 18 months long. Otherwise, Phasmidas are considered to be very passive and are strictly vegetarians. Unlike other plant-eating insects, the leaf bugs will eat an entire leaf, rather than taking random bites of many leaves. This makes their trail difficult to find, allowing them to go unnoticed for a period of time. The walking leaves range from 20-330 millimeters long, and are green or brown in color. Because of their shape and color, they may be difficult to find, especially when they are on the defense, at which time they may play dead by falling to the floor, or sway slightly as a leaf would in the wind. Otherwise, they choose to remain extremely still. What makes the walking leaf very interesting is that they have the ability to reproduce through thenogenesis - without mating. When this occurs, however, all eggs will result in female off-springs, whereas mating would result in both male and female reproduction. Within the 50 different leaf bug species, some males are said to be extinct. This may be difficult to believe for some, but the walking leaf bug has become a popular pet. Caring of the leaf bug is very easy and does not require high maintenance, so is great for both kids and adults. Because of their unique shapes, framed leaf bugs have also become a popular decoration and sell for over $200. So the next time you notice a suspicious, moving leaf, or one that looks right back at you, you can rest easy knowing it is just the Phasmida!