A video featuring a giant leaf insect also known as Phyllium Giganteum has gone crazy viral on social media. These insects have an uncanny resemblance to a leaf and you will find it difficult to differentiate one from the other. The video shared on Instagram account Science by Guff has over 1 million views. The clip was originally shared on Instagram account named Eso.world
The biggest leaf insect in the world. Phyllium Giganteum is a very wide and large leaf insect with a body shaped like a leaf. Also, the legs have appendages making it look like leaves. The skin is green in color with brown spots around the edges. Two brown dots decorate the top of the abdomen. The shade of green and the amount of brown edges and spots differs between individuals. Females will become around 10cm in length (sic).
Phyllium giganteum is a very docile species, like many stick insects and leaf insects. During the day it sits very still, during the night it will move and eat. The newborn nymphs are a bit hyperactive, however after their first molt they will remain very quiet. When you pick up a Phyllium giganteum female, it will generally just stay still to keep up the appearance that it is a leaf. It is hard to coax them into moving.
The temperature of the cage for Phyllium giganteum should be between 25 °C and 30 °C. This species needs a lot of humidity, but also a lot of ventilation. Nymphs need to be kept more humid than the adults. Do not allow mold to form. It can be challenging to keep this species healthy.
As with all species of stick insects, Phyllium giganteum needs a cage that is at least 3 times the length of the insect in height, and at least 2x the length of the insect in width. For one adult female this means at least 30 cm high and 20 cm wide, but better is around 40 x 30 x 30 cm. Bigger is always better.
You cannot house stick insects and Giant Leaf Insects together in one cage, as the stick insects will eat the body of the leaf insects when food is scarce.
Netizens were left stunned after watching the video. “Always blows my mind how nature has formed them into a clone of other natural objects/plants ( not the most scientific way of putting probably but you know what I mean (sic),” a user wrote. “They even walk like the wind is blowing on them (sic),” another comment read.
This species consists of only females and they are a very docile species.