Diversity of female walking leaves within and between species. The two individuals on the left belong to Phyllium elegans from Papua New Guinea, followed on the right by Phyllium letiranti from Peleng Island in Indonesia and Phyllium hausleithneri from Malaysia. Photo: Bruno Kneubühler
Diversity of female walking leaves within and between species. The two individuals on the left belong to Phyllium elegans from Papua New Guinea, followed on the right by Phyllium letiranti from Peleng Island in Indonesia and Phyllium hausleithneri from Malaysia. Photo: Bruno Kneubühler Göttingen research team creates phylogenetic tree of leaf insects An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has studied the evolution of the walking leaves. Walking leaves belong to the stick insects and ghost insects that, unlike their approximately 3,000 branch-like relatives, do not imitate twigs. Instead, they wear large-scale extensions on their bodies and legs to mimic deciduous leaves in shape and colour. They have perfected this camouflage, which serves as protection from predators such as birds and mammals, by imitating feeding spots and withering leaf elements. In addition, the animals imitate leaf veining by special veining of the large forewings.
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