leaf insects

I suppose I knew these existed. I supposed that one day in the past someone taught me this. Maybe in a botany class I took in high school? Oh, wait. I didn't take a botany class. I don't think it was even offered back in the Dark Ages.

is it offered now? I think it could be a pretty cool class.

Maybe I read about it in my adulthood as I traveled through phases of interest. Did I travel through a botany phase? I don't remember enjoying gardening or zoology in the past like I enjoy it now; so maybe not. Well, I do like zoos. Are they there?

Anyway, these delightful little bugs seem amazing to me. They even walk like leaves blowing in the wind. Some people, I am discovering, raise them as pets. It takes all kinds to make a lovely world.




https://youtu.be/srGneoXsh0M

So I decided to find out more about them. I read about them in the online Britannica. (Remember?)
They are also called walking leaf insects and there are more than 50 species of them. They are mostly found in dense vegetated areas where they are camouflaged perfectly; they are plant-eaters themselves. You would find them on islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including Australia.
After they eat plant, they turn green. Some even mimic leaf damage, holes, or disease.

They are related to walkstick insects which themselves mimic twigs and branches. A whole community of lovely little leaves and branches. Pretty amazing.