If you ever owned a pet stick insect as a child, you might have noticed them swaying back and forth at the end of a twig, but until recently, nobody knew what this strange behaviour was for.
A study recently published in the journal Behavioral Ecology reveals what this strange behaviour is all about. Observing the behaviour of stick insects in natural conditions, the team found that stick insects swayed in windy conditions, and were most likely to do so when the wind speed was highly variable. The frequency of the stick insects movements matched the way plants natural move in the wind, so the authors believe the sway may add to their camouflage, convincing predators that they really are a just a stick, moving in the wind.
Want to Know More?
- Bian, Elgar and Peters (2015) The swaying behavior of Extatosoma tiaratum: motion camouflage in a stick insect? Behavioral Ecology
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By: Claire Asher
Claire is a Freelance Science Writer and Communicator, and Innovation Officer for the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership. She created Curious Meerkat in 2009, and has also written for a variety of publications including New Scientist, BBC Earth, Science, Nature, Mongabay, and The Scientist, as well as contributing to several books.. She completed her PhD in 2013 on the social behaviour of dinosaur ants.
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