LEAF INSECT

(family Phylliidae), also called walking leaf any of about 25 species of flat, green insects with a leaflike appearance that belong to the order Phasmatodea. 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 hindwings have no function. The male has small tegmina and ample, non-leaflike, functional hindwings. Newly hatched young are reddish in colour; they become green after feeding on leaves. Colour and form provide protection for the insect, as does the similarity between its eggs and various types of seeds. The leaf insect, about 60 mm (2.3 inches) long, ranges from India to the Fiji Islands. It is related to the stick insect (family Phasmatidae; compare walkingstick).