Watch a Stick Insect Lay Eggs to a Smooth Jazz Soundtrack
Up close, personal, and syncopated.
When you think, “giant prickly stick insect,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably not “sexy.” But this video—or at least its sultry smooth jazz soundtrack—begs you to reconsider.
Behold a close-up window into an intimate insect experience. Opening with a brief pan of the camera from the Extatosoma tiaratum’s head to tail, this video then draws us into the steady, pulsating movement occurring at the tip of the bug’s abdomen. Slowly but surely, oval-shaped eggs are pushed out and into the world.
The eggs are dropped to the ground and sometimes flicked by the abdomen, the products of a gestation period of several months. And conveniently, thanks to parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction, certain species of female stick insects don’t even need a mate to procreate.
Interestingly, the color of these eggs can widely vary, even in the case of the same individual, ranging from white to mottled mocha to dark brown. According to Pet Info Club, “you are likely to find that females lay their relatively large eggs with such propulsive force that these may land several feet away, even on the other side of the room.” And if you were wondering about that mushy green pellet that pops out of the orifice above the egg—your hunch was right. That is insect poop, otherwise known as frass. (See more frass in action here.)
Every day we track down a Video Wonder: an audiovisual offering that delights, inspires, and entertains. Have you encountered a video we should feature? Emailella@atlasobscura.com.
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