Their order contains the longest known living insects, but Phasmids are frustratingly scarce creatures, notwithstanding the fact that more than 30 species are known from local forests. Their ability to hide in plain sight and nocturnal habits clearly help them avoid prying eyes, and it's likely that many dwell high in the canopy, beyond the reach of grasping arms and and poking ducks.
This large (approx. 15 cm) individual on Pulau Ubin was sighted only because it was clambering about a clump of woody foliage that had fallen close to the road. It's probably Lonchodes brevipes, one of the few species of stick insects that is not reckoned rare locally. The stiff beast feeds on common plants such as guava, hibiscus, rose and gambier. Murphy (1990) notes the occasional occurrence of this species on sea hibiscus, making it one of just two phasmids that might be encountered in the mangal. Becoming aware that its cover was blown, the insect clasped its forelegs together and played dead on a twig, only to suffer brief flashes of attention and a helping hand back to a bush beyond the burning sun.
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