Marjorie is a Diapherodes gigantea which doesn't really seem to have a common UK name apart from the "Giant Lime Green Stick Insect." Which is a little bit uninspired.
As you might guess form the "gigantea" part of her Latin name, she has quite a lot more growing to do and should eventually be about as long as my outstretched hand and as thick as my thumb.
The swaying movement that she displays is thought to have two functions: Firstly, as I say in the video to Hayley, she sways in windy conditions to aid her camouflage, or crypsis as it is often called. Secondly, she is using the motion of her head to detect relative movement of near and far objects, parallax. This helps her perceive depth. Clever stuff!
dude!!!!! so cool! you should have techno music playing in the background :)
ReplyDelete-z
Marjorie prefers acid house apparently
ReplyDelete