Timema
Timema is a genus of short-bodied, stout stick insects native to the far western United States.[1][2][3]
| Timema | |
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| Timema genevieve on the leaves of chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum). | |
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| Suborder: | Timematodea
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| Family: | Timematidae
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| Genus: | Timema Scudder, 1895
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Compared to other stick insects (order Phasmatodea), the genus Timema is basal. It is the earliest living branch to diverge from the phylogenetic tree of the Phasmatodea. To emphasize this, all other stick insects are sometimes described as "Euphasmatodea."
Five of the 21 species of Timema are parthenogenetic, including two species that have not engaged in sexual reproduction for one million years, the longest known asexual period for any insect.[4]
Timema sticks are night-feeders: they spend daytime resting on the leaves or bark of the plants they feed on. They are camouflaged. Timema species have colours (green, gray, or brown) and patterns (stripes or dots) which match their background.[5][6]
References
- ↑ Jennifer H. Law & Bernard J. Crespi (2002). "The evolution of geographic parthenogenesis in Timema walking-sticks" (PDF). Molecular Ecology. Blackwell Science Ltd. 11: 1471–1489. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.2002.01547.x.
- ↑ Brock, P.D. "Species Timema californicum Scudder, 1895". Phasmida Species File Online. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Hebard, M. (1920). "The genus Timema Scudder, with the description of a new species, (Orthoptera, Phasmidae, Timeminae)" (PDF). Entomological News. 31: 126–132. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Davies, Ella. Sticks insects survive one million years without sex. BBC Nature News. [1]
- ↑ Sandoval, Cristina P. & Bernard J. Crespi 2008. Adaptive evolution of cryptic coloration: the shape of host plants and dorsal stripes in Timema walking-sticks. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 94: 1–5. [2]
- ↑ Gullan, P.J.; P.S. Cranston (2010). The Insects: an outline of entomology. John Wiley and Sons. p. 367. ISBN 1-4443-3036-5.
... many stick insects look very much like sticks and may even move like a twig in the wind.
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