Kingdom Animalia Family Phasmatidae Genus Megacrania Phylum Arthropoda Order Phasmids | Class Insecta Subfamily Platycraninae Scientific name Megacrania batesii Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Phasmids, Acrophylla, Acrophylla titan, Onchestus rentzi, Lonchodes | ||
The peppermint stick insect (Megacrania batesii) is a bluish-green coloured stick insect that only lives on the midribs of the leaves of the "screwpine" Pandanus tectorius. If disturbed during the day, it emits a fine spray of a milky substance with an odor resembling peppermint. They do not use their hindlegs for locomotion.
The species occurs in Queensland, as well as several islands in the Pacific Ocean, for example the Solomon Islands, Ambon Island, New Guinea, the New Hebrides and the Philippines.
Another Megacrania species, M. alpheus, should possibly be included in M. batesii.
References
Megacrania batesii Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA