The stick insect Diapherodes gigantea , which reaches 15 cm in the case of females (with antennae of about 7 centimeters), is intense green in color and cannot fly, is native to the forests of the Lesser Antilles (of the Saint Vincent, Grenada and Saint Lucia islands of the Caribbean). In captivity, they are considered relatively easy to keep pets, feeding on bramble, eucalyptus, or oak leaves.
In this case, Charlie , as this domestic giant green stick insect is called, showed its true colors after shedding its skin at its home in Suffolk, revealing the first example of gynandromorphism in this species by presenting the bright green body of a female and the brown wings of a male. The left side is not as wide as a typical adult female, but it is wider than a normal male.
Lauren Garfield, its owner, was very surprised at this different coloration and decided to publish it through her social networks . Garfield then contacted Paul Brock, an insect expert at the Natural History Museum, and after exchanging photographs, he agreed to carefully send Charlie to them for examination.
It is a “particularly impressive specimen,” said experts from the Natural History Museum in London.
In particular, the stick insect Charlie is a clear example of gynandromorph bilatera l; that is, when the two halves of the body seem to express different sexual characteristics. Its left side is bright green with short forewings, typical of females, while the right side is brown with longer forewings, as expected in a male.
Owner Lauren Garfield has donated her pet to the London museum for scientific research which will have to be euthanized to properly study it. Their usual life expectancy is one year.
Reference: Natural History Museum, London
