Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago

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Call them stick bugs, walkingsticks, leaf insects, or phasmids, insects in the order Phasmatodea are masters of disguise. But why would an insect want to look like a plant? We decided to go to the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium to find out for ourselves.

Find out more about the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium here: missoulabutterflyhouse.org

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This month's pin is designed by Josh Taira. You can find out more about him and his work here: https://daruma-party.square.site/

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Sources:
britannica.com/animal/leaf-insect
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118945582
frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00345/full
lifeandscience.org/blog/lets-hear-it-for-the-boy-a-male-malaysian-giant-leaf-insect-is-born
kqed.org/science/1947830/these-giant-leaf-insects-will-sway-your-heart
keepinginsects.com/stick-insect/species/leaf-insect-psg-278
pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0606937104
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8288419
phys.org/news/2022-10-early-evolution-successful-twig-mimicry.html
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095927322002912?via%3Dihub#b0020
https://entomology.unl.edu/scilit/Krishna%20Woerheide%20Bryan%20Shields%20Two-striped%20Walking%20%20Stick.pdf
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635720304563
science.org/content/article/thorny-devils-grow-giant-legs-pin-rivals
daily.jstor.org/the-incredible-edible-phasmid-egg
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/care-of-stick-insects/
mtpr.org/arts-culture/2019-02-05/bug-bytes-parthenogenesis-walking-sticks
missoulabutterflyhouse.org/notes-from-the-lab-the-walking-stick-dilemma-2

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Images:
gettyimages.com/detail/1493055711
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gettyimages.com/detail/1380989105
gettyimages.com/detail/1294480718?adppopup=true
gettyimages.com/detail/1416206857
youtube.com/watch?v=-nE8FsVqQ4M
pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0606937104#F1
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095927322002912?via%3Dihub#ab005
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8288419
gettyimages.com/detail/1133331543
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0040744
lifeandscience.org/blog/lets-hear-it-for-the-boy-a-male-malaysian-giant-leaf-insect-is-born
gettyimages.com/detail/1953253807
gettyimages.com/detail/1214213980
gettyimages.com/detail/460937814
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gettyimages.com/detail/1088878482
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instagram.com/p/CAD9aWMq9Ct/?img_index=2
gettyimages.com/detail/962877444
gettyimages.com/detail/1297248773
gettyimages.com/detail/1786421663
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gettyimages.com/detail/2168831204
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gettyimages.com/detail/1369077915
youtube.com/watch?v=-nE8FsVqQ4M
missoulabutterflyhouse.org/notes-from-the-lab-the-walking-stick-dilemma-2