LEAF INSECT


Meaning of LEAF INSECT in English

or walking leaf

Any of about 25 species of flat green insects (family Phylliidae) with a leaflike appearance.

Leaf insects, which range from India to the Fiji Islands, are about 2.3 in. (60 mm) long. The female has large leathery forewings (tegmina) that lie edge to edge on the abdomen and resemble, in their vein pattern, the midrib and veins in a leaf. The hind wings have no function. The male has small tegmina and ample, non-leaflike, functional hind wings. The newly hatched young are reddish, but become green after feeding on leaves.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.