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I’m sure everyone can see why this Black Beauty Stick Insect (Peruphasma Schultei) reminds me of Nemo from Finding Nemo. You remember his ‘lucky fin,’ the one that was smaller than the other? Well this guy sports two lucky red WINGS instead! Aren’t they adorable? They are so tiny and delicate! This is quite the interesting little creature as it is only found in the wild in a region of less than 5 hectares in Peru where it feeds on Schinusplants.
Since their discovery they have become increasingly popular in the pet trade due to their comical protruding yellow eyes and miniscule wings. By the way, the wings are vestigial, meaning they don’t even work; they’re just fun little accessories for this bug!
While they are probably quite fun to watch, the Black Beauty Stick Insect does possess a rather icky defense mechanism. When disturbed, they are able to spray a defensive liquid from glands at the rear of the head which can be irritating to your skin and eyes. So, before handling you should be aware that you might get a nice shot to the face. You’ve been warned!
