No male Vietnamese walking sticks are known to exist. Females lay eggs that hatch into clones of the mother. Diet is strictly leaves (at MPM, we primarily feed mulberry tree clippings from outside in the summer and romaine lettuce in the winter). Their main predators are birds and small mammals, though their camouflage helps disguise them from being discovered.
Curlyhair tarantulas are native to the Atlantic coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Tarantulas do not spin webs to catch prey, but rather rely on strong legs to pounce on and subdue their food with a venomous bite. Prey typically includes insects and other arthropods, though larger species of tarantulas are capable of taking small lizards, rodents, or birds on very rare occasions. They can produce silk, but this is used to line burrows or crevices for their homes.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are named for the hissing noise created as they push air through holes along the abdomen called spiracles. Hissing is used as a defense against predators or to communicate with other roaches. Cockroaches live two to five years and are important for the earth because they eat dead and decaying matter. Surprisingly, there are roughly 4,500 known species of cockroaches!
North American giant millipedes are a Wisconsin native. Millipedes have two pairs of legs per segment; contrast with centipedes, which have one pair of legs per segment. “Millipede” means “thousand-footed,” but no species has this many legs (usually just a couple hundred). Millipedes are important nutrient recyclers; they scavenge for dead and decaying organic matter on the ground.
The Eastern lubber grasshopper is native to the southeastern/southern United States. “Lubber” is something that’s big and clumsy, an appropriate name since they can’t fly and are not great jumpers. The bright yellows and reds against the black are warning colors to tell predators that it would be distasteful to eat.
This is one of the more common butterflies to our region. The monarch butterfly goes through a complete metamorphosis phase, like all butterflies. This process starts when a butterfly lays its eggs on the underside of a leaf, then a caterpillar emerges from the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves and plants and continues to grow until it’s ready for the next step of transforming into a chrysalis (not a cocoon; only moths emerge from cocoons). After spending around two weeks in the chrysalis, the caterpillar has changed and out flies a new butterfly!
The Arizona hairy desert scorpion is the largest species of scorpion in the US. The hairs on the body detect vibrations on the ground that help it find prey and avoid predators. The sting of this species is no more harmful than a bee sting (though there are scorpions whose venom is life-threatening to humans).
Black widow spider venom is not necessarily life threatening to humans (again, if you have an allergy, it could be). However, a bite from this spider would be much more painful than a tarantula. It would likely cause aches, pains, and nausea for a few hours. That being said, it’s not an aggressive species at all; the only way to get bit is if you cornered or squeezed it.
There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs in the world. These much loved critters are also known as lady beetles or ladybird beetles. They come in many different colors and patterns, but the most familiar in North America is the seven-spotted ladybug, with its shiny, red-and-black body. In many cultures, ladybugs are considered good luck.
Honey bees are super important pollinators for flowers, fruits, and vegetables. This means that they help other plants grow! Bees transfer pollen between the male and female parts, allowing plants to grow seeds and fruit. Honey bees are flying insects and close relatives of wasps and ants. They are found on every continent on earth, except Antarctica.