The Sipyloidea Sipylus is commonly referred to as Pink Winged Stick Insect or Magadascan Stick Insect. The first name comes from their pinkish wings that grow during the last molt. The second name comes from the fact that this species was kept and bred by hobbyists for the first time in Madagascar.
The Pink Winged Stick Insect is native to South East Asia. It can be found in Malaysia, Thailand, Java, Sumatra, and Madagaskar.
The males and females of this species can fly and when they feel threatened they will make use of a chemical spray that smells like molding hay or grass, or simply fly away.
Diet
Just like all Phasmids, this species is phytophagous. That means that it only eats plants and no meat. The Sipyloidea Sipylus is a polyphagous species and is not limited to a single or very few food sources.
It can be fed with bramble, raspberry, hawthorn, rose leaves, oak, hazel, and many more. You can try out a variety of different leaves and find out what your pets like the best.
Make sure that no pesticides were used on the plants you feed your stick insect. Always rinse the leaves in advance, just in case.
Cage
The enclosure for this species should be at least 11 inches tall.
Like all Phasmids, the Pink Winged Stick Insect needs enough space to molt while hanging upside down. During the molt, it will crawl out of the exoskeleton and must not reach the floor. Otherwise, it might get stuck in the old skin and die.
This species likes medium to high humidity, therefore an enclosure with only one side made of mesh, and the other sides with plastic or glass are perfect. Plastic or glass walls retain humidity inside and can provide a higher humidity in the enclosure.
Another way to provide high humidity is to use a good substrate on the floor of the enclosure that can retain and slowly release humidity. You can use anything like soil, hummus, vermiculite, Spagna moss, or even a paper towel.
Put the cage in a room with natural light but not directly into sunlight. You don’t need extra heating of light for this species.
Temperature
This species thrives at room temperature. Anything between 68° F (= 20° C) at night and 77° F (=25° C) during the day is perfect.
Try to avoid any sudden temperature change caused by direct sunlight or an open window close to the enclosure.
Humidity
The humidity should not drop below 60% in the enclosure. This species needs medium to high humidity and anything between 60% and 80% is good.
To provide this humidity you can spray a fine mist of water into the enclosure every day. Use bottled spring water or dechlorinated tap water. You can sprinkle the substrate, the walls, and the leaves.
Mist the leaves in the evening because Phasmids are nocturnal and will eat and drink at night. With freshly misted leaves in the evening, the pet stick insect can drink the tiny drops of water from the plant.
Appearance
This species can be light brown or greenish with a light brown pattern. They mimic dried-out grass and camouflage perfectly in fields with high grass. This pinkish wings as adults gave them their name: Pink Winged Stick Insect.
They have very long antennas that can reach up to ⅔ or the length of the entire body.
Females have an average size of around 3.3 inches while males are commonly around 2.5 inches in length.
Lifespan
The stick insects need about 3 to 4 months to reach adulthood. The entire lifespan is usually around one year.
Reproduction
The reproduction can be both sexually in nature and parthenogenetically in captivity when no suitable male is around.
Parthenogenetic reproduction means that the female does not need a male to be able to lay eggs that can hatch. The entire offspring from parthenogenetic reproduction is female, while sexual reproduction will lead to both males and females.
Ova, Incubation Period
The Sipyloidea Sipylus glues its ova (= eggs) onto the leaves and everywhere else in the enclosure, especially in small niches and gaps, such as cracks in the bark.
Be extra careful when you remove anything from the tank such as the old substrate of feeding plants, because chances are high that ova are stuck to it.
The incubation period is around 3 months.
Overall Difficulty Rating
The Pink Winged Stick Insect is a very popular pet stick insect due to obvious reasons. It is very easy to take care of and to handle, and rather sturdy. This species makes a great beginner pet insect.
Lisa is one of the two founders of Animal-Knowledge. She has been very interested in animals and insects from a very young age and has owned different kinds of pets such as snails, ants, fish, turtles, mice, rats, hamsters, rabbits, a dog, … you get the idea 🙂