VIDEO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFjqGMBnh8

Finally got my peruphasma schultei, aka black beauty stick insects. 3 babies and 2 near-adults. I am so happy. This one is Tei :) The two semi-adults are at about 2 1/2", They reach 5-7 cm (female) / 4-5 cm (male) as adults.

These stick insects are found ONLY in one small region of Peru, a region of less than 5 hectares. It's amazing how little I had to pay for them. They live about a year, but are usually quick to lay many, many eggs... I hope so much that they will!

They eat privet, lilac (syringa), lonicera (honeysuckle), forsythia, catalpa, olive leaves, buddleja, jasmin, snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), and/or plantain. They are apparently very easy to keep and breed well, so I am hoping for lots of eggs from my breeding pair once they've reached maturity :)

Expect LOTS more photos of these. I am absolutely in love with them. It's hard to not handle them more... but I should leave them be and let them adjust to their new environment for a while.