American wood nymph (SciiFii)

The American wood nymph (Heteropteryx irvingtonensis) is a species of stick insect, most closely related to the jungle nymph of Malaysia, that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the rainforests, wetlands, forests, open woodlands, and wooded shrublands across North America and South America to help boost biodiversity. The female American wood nymphs are much larger and wider than the males and reach 14 centimetres (5.5 inches) to 17 centimetres (6.7 inches) in length and with 30 to 65 grams are among the heaviest phasmids or any other modern-styled insects. In addition to the typically red-brown females, there are also yellow-orange, yellow, and even more rarely lime green-colored females. Their two pairs of wings are both shortened. At rest, the green forewings, formed as tegmina, cover the somewhat shorter, strikingly pink-colored membranous hind wings, here formed as alae, however they are incapable of flight. The head, body and legs are thorny. The flattened body is provided with a number of spines in particular along the body edges including the abdomen and the legs, especially along the hind legs. At the end of the abdomen there is a secondary ovipositor for laying the eggs in the ground. It surrounds the actual ovipositor and is ventral formed from the eighth sternite, here named subgenital plate or operculum and dorsally from the eleventh tergum, which is referred to here as the supraanal plate or epiproct. The much smaller males are slender and only about 9 centimetres (3.5 inches) to 13 centimetres (5.1 inches) long. They have spines all over the body and legs too and usually a mottled brown colour. The hind wings cover the entire abdomen. The narrow, but only slightly shorter forewings are designed as tegmina to and have a light front edge, which gives the animals with closed wings the typical lateral stripes over the mesonotum and half of the abdomen. The fully developed hind wings are reddish and marked with a brown net pattern. The American wood nymph is a nocturnal herbivore and it primarily feeds on blackberry, raspberry, rose leaves, ivy leaves, mulberry leaves, fig leaves, and conifer needles, although it can occasionally feed on flowers to supplement its diet. The adult female American wood nymphs lay 30-90 relatively large eggs almost always individually, several centimeters deep in the ground using the ovipositor. The eggs take from 10 to 11 months to hatch. Females are born a beige color, which fades as it molts, while the newly born males are a darker brown. The American wood nymph has one of the longest lifespan of all stick insect species and, when cared properly, they can live up to 6 years. The conservation status of the American wood nymph is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the American wood nymph's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii