Jungle Nymph Stick Insect

Looks how to spot one

Spiny exoskeleton with short wings

A heavy, chunky stick insect covered in thorns. Females are broad and bulky, males slimmer and longer-looking. Both have short wings and cannot fly; the female hides pink hind wings under green forewings.1

Personality what they are like

Calm and slow most of the time, but confident when bothered: it raises its abdomen, rustles its wings to make a hissing noise and snaps its spiny back legs together. Gentle, regular handling helps it stay relaxed.13

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Mostly sits still among its food plants and becomes more active at night. Needs room to climb and hang.13

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

No grooming. Provide fresh food plants in water, mist the enclosure regularly to keep humidity high, and give a deep layer of substrate where females can bury their eggs.13

Home where they are happiest

Wikipedia gives a minimum of about 40 x 40 x 40 cm for a pair, kept at 20-30 C with high humidity and several centimetres of moist substrate. The AES advises cage height of at least three times the insect's length so it can moult while hanging.13

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Leaves of bramble (blackberry, raspberry), oak, hawthorn, hazel, ivy and rose.123

Company who they like around

Can be kept as a pair or small group as long as the enclosure is large and well stocked with food plants.1

The story where it all began

Described in 1798 under a different genus name and later moved into Heteropteryx in 1835. It has long been one of the best-known stick insects in captivity, and genetic work has suggested a separate, still unnamed relative lives in southern Thailand.12

Recognised by the official bits

Phasmid Study Group

Listed in the PSG culture list as PSG 18, common name Jungle Nymph.2

Taxonomy (via Wikipedia)

First described as Phasma dilatatum by John Parkinson in 1798; genus Heteropteryx set up by George Robert Gray in 1835.1