Stick insects have the military skills of camouflage and defense. These skills include giving of defensive odors, spraying harmful chemicals, mimicking branches, changing color, and faking their own deaths. However, even with this array of defenses from their predators the stick insect is vulnerable to attack from them, and because of this they rarely gather sufficient numbers for a plague.

However, they have had their moments, and in'63 a plague of stick insects descended on 650 square miles of forest in Southern Australia and stripped it bare. There have also been similar cases in the Pacific where coconut plantations have proved to be rich breeding grounds.

A number of factors have to align in order for something as rare as a stick insect plague to occur. Multiple years without forest fires is needed so that the flora and fauna is plentiful enough to support population growth. In addition to this a consistent temperature over many years to enable the plague population to grow. This lack of fires not only ensures plant growth, but also means that stick insects do not die in fires.

Introduction of a species of stick insect into a habitat that they do not naturally occur in can cause the changes in population levels that leads to plagues. As a pet owner you must be responsible enough not to allow your stick insect to escape and threaten a delicately balanced ecosystem.

So in conclusion we can say that whilst stick insects face threats from rats, birds, mammals, and even wasps, they can sometimes rise up, form a plague, and cause significant damage. So next time you are at home looking at you delicate pet in its vivarium, just remember what a devastating creature it can be when it is unleashed in a plague.

Looking to find the best information on tropical pets, and stick insects? This is a good place to start: http://hubpages.com/hub/Tropical-Pets

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Written by Philip Hachisu using tags: coconut plantations