Carausius morosus
Carausius morosus is a species of Phasmatodea often kept as pets. Culture stocks originate from a collection from Tamil Nadu, India. Like the majority of the Phasmatodea, C. morosus are nocturnal. Culture stocks are parthenogenetic females that can reproduce without mating. There are no reports of males, although in captivity, gynandromorphs are sometimes reared.
Description
Females are elongated and about in length, ranging from a light green to a darkish brown in colour. The front legs have red patches at the base of the forelegs, and similar but yellow patches on the mid-legs. Eggs are in length, ovoid and brown, with a beige capitula at one end. When the eggs hatch, the plug opens and dark, tiny, string-like young crawl out of the opening. The eggs are haploid.Behaviour
When disturbed, the major defence method is feigning death, the body becoming rigid, and the legs held along the line of the body. They may also be found swaying to mimic the movement of foliage in wind.The insects feed at night, when they are active. During the day, they rest, often with legs in line with the body, on their food plants.