It's possible to breed stick insects even if you only have one, because some of the most common species, the spiky stick insects (Acanthoxyla), are parthenogenetic. This means that no males are needed, with mothers laying eggs from which hatch only daughters. In fact, until this year, no males had ever been seen. Then one was found, in England of all places. The species had been introduced to England in the 1920s and is doing well. Males seem to be very rare mutants, not required for reproduction.
Because some stick insect species have just one sex and others have both, their genetics are very interesting to entomologists. Studying their DNA has also revealed unknown species hiding in plain sight. One of the new species was recently given the scientific name rakauwhakanekeneke, te reo Māori for "the stick that walks".
The stick insects in captivity in the Museum have been growing steadily, and we've collected dozens of eggs, which are currently incubating. The hatchlings will be released back into the bush. Unfortunately, stick insects have a short life expectancy. They hatch in spring, reach full size in a few months, and usually don't survive the winter. When ours die, we'll preserve the bodies and put them on display in a new insect exhibition ready for when the Museum re-opens in October. Visitors will be confronted by a case full of sticks and invited to work out how many of them are insects.
Dr Mike Dickison is the Curator of Natural History at Whanganui Regional Museum.