Acanthoxyla prasina, Spiny stick insect. Te Wai Pounamu, photo credit me.
The entirety of the Acanthoxyla genus is made up of species that are female only and reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. This means that every member of a species are essentially clones of each other!
This genus most likely came about through hybridisation of two different stick insect species which produced a few individuals that, while could not reproduce sexually, still had the ability to reproduce asexually, creating a genetic separation and entirely new genus!
There are a few different Māori words that refer to stick insects more broadly, such as rō or whē, which are also used for many species of preying mantis, as it was thought that these two types of bugs were related. It makes sense, as they are very similar in looks and body plan, and many stick insects and mantises also have similar habitat requirements to each other.
